The Urban Pantheist

She's eating something! (probably a small fly that got trapped in her web)


Leucauge venusta are super common around suburban yards, but so beautiful they deserve a close look.


Green, yellow, black, orange, silver...
They are adapted to forest edges, a habitat that humans replicate throughout our parks, yards, and gardens.


They make wonderful neighbors, hanging around the edges of trees and shrubs, taking extra flying insects (there are always extras).

Here's the gang from the June 15th mushroom walk! Another great batch of folks who really were engaged and interested and asked questions that showed that they were listening to me and cared what I said. I hope they take me up on my offer to answer any lingering questions or attempt to id any mushrooms they get good pictures of. I know I at least have to address the question of what mushrooms are the most dangerous to dogs in the yard.

( Read more... )

Orchard orbweaver Leucage venusta

The orchard orbweaver is a beautiful little spider striped with silver, yellow, and green. Some individuals have orange spots on their undersides; variations within the species were once taken to be different species entirely but they have been conflated. They are a woodland species, but the edges of shrubbery in the suburbs seem to suit them fine; they range from southern Canada to Central America. One source notes that, when disturbed, the orchard orbweaver drops from its web to the ground. This second photo shows my subject in the process of, but not quite committed to this behavior. Perhaps it is reluctant to drop its morsel of insect, still enfanged.