Monday, June 09, 2008

Baby Yellow Spiders


I was walking through a meadow very slowly yesterday morning, looking at wildflowers and enjoying the sudden appearance of butterflies and moths as my feet disturbed the grass, when I saw a small clump of some sort of eggs. Upon closer inspection I could see that it was a group of baby yellow spiders! As I was taking a macro picture of them my camera must have touched the web that they were attached to, for instantly they sprung apart, as if the slight touch had triggered their reaction.
I googled the words, "baby yellow spiders" and found several photos similar to mine. On one site, The British Arachnological Society answers the question, "What are those bundles of tiny yellow spiders with a black spot?", and it describes very well the same sort of instant dispersal of the baby spiders that I had seen when I had touched the web with my camera lens.

20 comments:

Mary said...

I'm not crazy about spiders, but those are really cute! What a neat find! Must have been fun to watch them. I know how you love learning about anything new :-) What does the adult look like? I'll have to pay closer attention to looking for things like that.

me ann my camera said...

mary:
It was a neat find, tho I am not really a spider fan myself. Some things are very enjoyable seen at a bit of a distance, not too close. If these are baby Garden Spiders, then the adult would look like this:
http://naturetales.blogspot.com/2007/08/black-and-yellow-garden-spider-and-egg.html
These are pictures I had posted last August of an adult Garden Spider that I had found in my garden.

About paying cloer attention: it is amazing what is out there and is often found just by being really aware of our surroundings!

Becky said...

Awsome shots. I probably wouldn't even spot them.
Great post.

Mary said...

Ann....congratulations on your anniversary today! Hope you have a nice day celebrating. Thanks for the spider info.

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Happy Anniversary, Ann!! I hope you celebrate it in style!

What a great sighting of these spiders. I've never seen yellow spiders before.

me ann my camera said...

sandpiper and becky:
The spiders were just another one of those lucky finds! Glad you both enjoy viewing them as I think they are really unique. I was happy with the find.

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see all those baby spiders - I wonder how many there were. The "bundle" looks like a wild flower itself.

bobbie said...

I agree with April that the bundle does look like a flower.
Ann, these are amazing shots. It's such a thrill when something like this happens - touching it and having them all scatter. You must have been delighted by that.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it great to stumble across something like this! I would have been snapping away too... and I would have been creeped out the whole time. LOL! Great find!

me ann my camera said...

bobbie and april:
When I found the little spiders I didn't really know what I was looking at until they sprang apart but I couldn't really see the details of their legs until I downloaded the pictures at home. It was because of the spider find that I ordered a 'macro lens' the next day. It should be quite exciting being able to get a much closer view on so many of these minature insect worlds around us! And, bobbie, yes, I was totally delighted with my find!

sweetnsaxy:
Yes, a little of both: exciting but maybe a little creepy crawly too!

Davis Givan said...

It's just like the children's book, Little Miss Spider....I know someone who will just love to see this picture when he wakes up in the morning!

me ann my camera said...

dada:
I love it when these pictures are shared!! Hope he enjoys!

Rebecca said...

Great photos! We found your blog when we Googled "baby yellow spiders with black spot" and we were relieved to know that the cluster of spiders that came in with our shopping bags are good old Canadian garden types, and not some poisonous exotic creature from overseas! We will definitely visit your blog often.
- a homeschooling family in Nova Scotia

Raluca said...

Thank you for posting these pictures! We found a nest of these in our yard and were wondering what to do, and this really helped!

Anonymous said...

This was helpful. I was out side my back porch about a month ago and I almost ran into a large spider and its web. A few weeks later I saw a yellow clump in a bush close to where the big spider was. I got closer and touched the branches and they scattered. About a week later there was what looked like they sheded there skin. Then about a week or 2 after that they were all gone. I thought they might have been poison spiders bit now I see from the UK web site you added its just a harmless garden spider. And I live in central Florida. It was prity cool watching them clump up together and what not. Thanks for the info and taking the time to read my story.

l said...

We arrived at your blog by googling baby black and yellow spiders too!
I am so happy we happened to find you this way. We just moved to PEI and we love nature. Your blog is gorgeous, and I keep seeing your daughter's book everywhere!
I added your blog to my blog list on mine.
http://lifeonacanadianisland.blogspot.ca/

Anonymous said...

It's interesting, I found these same spiders on my back deck yesterday. They were close to the door, so I tossed water at them to get them into the lawn. The funny thing is, today I see them all clumping together again in the same spot. I figured, they're on a mission so I'm leaving them alone now. I'm a little bit of an arachnophobe so it freaked me out at first, but I'm also curious about nature, so I'm leaving them alone to do their own thing. I will say though, it did give me the "heeby-jeebies" because there are so many of them but, whatever, as long as they don't show up in my bedroom I figure they have as much right to be here as I do! I am curious to find out more about them. I found a clump like this years ago on my dresser in college. I gathered them up in a glass and tossed them outside, but I do remember once you touch the web they disburse in all directions. I'd like to know more about them, their environment etc.. I live in the Northwest corner of the US, and it's spring time now. That's all I can say about their habitat. But where do they come from? Why do they clump together? Are they "baby" spiders, or just full grown tiny spiders? More research is in the works! One other thing I've seen since I was a kid, are even smaller spiders, about the size of a granule of salt, and bright red. I've seen them on concrete curbs etc. around August. I've wondered about them too, because I think they're THE smallest spider I've ever seen.. probably not actually arachnids, but appear similar. Any idea on those? or more info on the bigger (although tiny) yellow ones pictured here? I figure the best way to get over a fear of something is to research it. ;) thanks for sharing!

Jody Bruchon said...

What you're looking at is a cluster of young cross orbweavers.

Unknown said...

Are they poisonous?

Unknown said...

Are they poisonous?