Tuesday, June 06, 2006
6/06/2006 06:45:00 AM
6/06/2006 06:45:00 AM
Spider Encounter of the Second Time
posted by FH2o
I ran into an arachnid or spider again but luckily this time it was not as close an encounter as the earlier one! I only got close deliberately to get a better shot of it.
It caught my eye as it was larger than the normal household variety with an unusual zebra-like stripes; hanging down from our patio roof. It has a strange shape with two pointed horns and appears to have a hard shell like armor and if you squints your eyes it almost looks like a UFO as the thread of the web is almost invisible!
Would anyone of you out there be able to identify this spider or if indeed it is a spider at all? ;)And if you are wondering; I didn't disturb it and it's still hanging there and perhaps weaving a web of its own by now. Come to think of it, my maid does have easy access to spiders around our house. Hmmm. I do not want a close encounter of the third kind as far as spiders are concerned!
Stumble It!17 Comments:
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Post a Comment At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 
Gette said:
Holy cow. I've never seen a spider like that before. So pretty! Got a look at the underside? 8 legs and 2 body segments? She looks like she's carrying her own canopy in case of rain.
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 Robin said:
Could be a species of the Zebra spider.. cute looking..
how big is it anyway?
how big is it anyway?
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 Happysurfer said:
My guess is, it must be having a very interesting ancestrial line - a mix of zebra, bat, crab and spider.
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 FH2O said:
gette - yeah and in one of your favourite colours too! ;)
robin - small but bigger than the common variety; about the tip of your finger.
happy - heehee; what an imagination!
robin - small but bigger than the common variety; about the tip of your finger.
happy - heehee; what an imagination!
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 Wuching said:
that's my pet! can i have it back?
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 ti3st0-pVDyke_27 said:
aha. something out of the ordinary on 06-06-06..=P
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 The Moody Minstrel said:
Wow, what a weird looking thing!
Speaking of UFOs, are you sure that spider is supposed to be on this planet?
Speaking of UFOs, are you sure that spider is supposed to be on this planet?
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 robin said:
hey unker !!
not yet encounter black widow spider eh?? ahahhahaaaa
not yet encounter black widow spider eh?? ahahhahaaaa
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 YD said:
I shouldn't have get that camouflage body painting! It apparently did the opposite effect!
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 Gette said:
Azreen (Owner of the Duck) turned up a close match to the Black-and-White Spiny Spider. Further Googling led me to this site, where a few spiny spiders of different patterns are also mentioned. Maybe you can send them your photos for identification when they get back from vacation. I'll probably do the same for the spider I photographed in Permai.
At Tuesday, 06 June, 2006 Wilson said:
wow, that's a very beautifu spider. is good to capture it on camera.
At Wednesday, 07 June, 2006 FH2O said:
gette - thanks for the additional info from you and Azreen (hi azreen!). most helpful. will send the photos to ID the spider resident of our place.
wilson - tempted to capture it in a matchbox too but decided against such juvenile act at my age ... ;)
wilson - tempted to capture it in a matchbox too but decided against such juvenile act at my age ... ;)
At Wednesday, 07 June, 2006 Chen said:
This is cute..
FIrst time I see such a spider :)
FIrst time I see such a spider :)
At Wednesday, 07 June, 2006 Pandabonium said:
We had a similar looking species on Maui. There are many variations of the "paint job", often with orange spikes.
It is not native to Hawaii so when it arrived it had few natural enemies, and spread widely. They are commonly called crab spiders or thorn spiders. They are supposed to be harmless to humans.
The scientific name is Gasteracantha elipsoides.
Very strange looking to be sure - but beatiful in their own way.
It is not native to Hawaii so when it arrived it had few natural enemies, and spread widely. They are commonly called crab spiders or thorn spiders. They are supposed to be harmless to humans.
The scientific name is Gasteracantha elipsoides.
Very strange looking to be sure - but beatiful in their own way.
At Thursday, 08 June, 2006 YD said:
What's the difference between Gasteracantha elipsoides and Gastericantha fornicata?
I showed my bro the photo and he came up with the information, consistent with what azreen, gette and panda found.
Spiny spider cute name!
He commented that the colour is a bit different though, normally it's black-yellow stripes, but this one's got white (with a little yellow traces). Cool...
Happy to learn another new thing!
I showed my bro the photo and he came up with the information, consistent with what azreen, gette and panda found.
Spiny spider cute name!
He commented that the colour is a bit different though, normally it's black-yellow stripes, but this one's got white (with a little yellow traces). Cool...
Happy to learn another new thing!
At Thursday, 08 June, 2006 Pandabonium said:
Elipisoides refers to eliptical or oval shaped ones such as Unker's. Fornicata, which is latin for curved, have bigger points left and right and so are wider and not so rounded. If you image google the names you find pictures of each.
One interesting fact I learned while looking this up is that these spiders use their color patterns to attract their prey. Before that discovery it was largely assumed that animals used color only to attract mates.
stunning pictures
One interesting fact I learned while looking this up is that these spiders use their color patterns to attract their prey. Before that discovery it was largely assumed that animals used color only to attract mates.
stunning pictures
At Monday, 12 June, 2006 
Waddafak said:
Just my 2 bits worth here but i think that is a six spined, Christmas aka jewel spider aka latin name under the Genus Astracantha. There are a few subspecies like Astracantha minax and Astracantha vittata. What you have there is something i have never seen despite all the time in the jungle. If its a new species we can call it Astracantha ftwohisis lol...
Females are larger until 8mm across and males are much smaller about 3mm only. This one you saw is probably a male as the females have cream and black colouring. This genus is abundant thought the indo pacific area including australia.
Next time catch it in case its an unrecorded species. Cheers.
Females are larger until 8mm across and males are much smaller about 3mm only. This one you saw is probably a male as the females have cream and black colouring. This genus is abundant thought the indo pacific area including australia.
Next time catch it in case its an unrecorded species. Cheers.