Forgive me, I include a photo of a spider down below. Maybe the fact that it is rather blurry will soften it a bit — I took it before sunrise when everything was a bit dim, and I just did a casual handheld shot. What impressed me, though, was the web, which is about 60cm across. Last night, this Argiope‘s web was a tattered broken mess, with big holes punched in every quadrant (the spider had a busy day catching bumblebees). When I went to bed, it was a pathetic few radial strands with a still intact stabilimentum, and the spider calmly poised in the center, mistress of a ruin.
I was up this morning before sunrise, and thought I’d take a quick look at the wreckage. Mirabile dictu, the orb web was restored, pristine and perfect! She apparently had a busy night.
Yeah, I know it’s a bad photo. I had the aperture wide open and a flash, but trying to do it without a tripod was a mistake. I might try again in an hour once there is a little more light.
This might be a better picture, with plenty of light, but it was tricky to take — the web isn’t quite planar, and there was a bit of a breeze moving it around.
I’d like to see a clearer pic. She looks like a beauty!
That first shot was very artsy. Sixty cm? wow
I didn’t notice the blurriness of the first shot until I clicked to expand. The most noticeable thing to me is that the spider appears to be glowing (saint or superhero, you pick). I’m not sure what effect of lighting causes that, maybe the gauzy web between it an the camera.