#Arrow-Shaped Orbweaver

[wildflowers-of-southern-ontario]

Arrow-Shaped Orbweaver Micrathena sagittata Araneidae

Photograph taken on August 13, 2023, at Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

#wildflowers of southern ontario #Arrow-Shaped Orbweaver #arrow shaped orbweaver #orbweaver #Micrathena sagittata #Micrathena #Araneidae #spider #spiderweb #pinery provincial park #pinery #insect #arachnid #ontario #canada

[onenicebugperday]

@firekitten830​ submitted: I’ve never seen a spider(?) like this before! I had a lovely time watching them crawl around though I don’t think they were very happy about the fact they they were in a moving vehicle (I got them out once we stopped). Location is Maryland

Ohhhhhhhhhhh really cool find! Not one I’ve had submitted before. It’s a male arrow-shaped orbweaver, Micrathena sagittata. Females look like this:

Photo by skitterbug

#arachnids #bugs #animals #submission #spider #Micrathena #arrow shaped orbweaver

[thesingingbullfrog]

Arrow-shaped Orbweaver

#orb weaver #spiders #spider #wildlife photography #nature photography #photographers on tumblr #original photography

[todaysbug]

July 28th, 2022

Arrow-Shaped Micrathena (Micrathena sagittata)

This odd-looking fella is best-known for its conspicuous backside, which may remind some of a certain beloved video game character. Found throughout the eastern USA and Central America, this orbweaver spider is rarely spotted due to its small size—while females grow to one centimetre in length, legs included, males only reach half that.

The arrow-shaped micrathena's backside isn't just for show, as it's thought to help the spider attract its prey. A study on a similarly-coloured webspinner in Australia found that spiders with bright yellow colouring caught more prey than those whose abdomens had been coloured black with marker. The spines lining their abdomen, with an appearance much like the thorns of a rose, help deter predators. It also somewhat helps with camouflage, allowing the spider to hide in the corners of its web. Males lack both the colouring and spikes, instead muted in colour with round abdomens.

These micrathenas spin webs composed of tightly-wound concentric circles, which specialize in catching small prey such as mosquitos and leafhoppers. For this reason, these spiders are considered largely beneficial to humans! Like many other spiders, they inject their immobilized prey with liquefying venom, allowing them to suck their dinner right out of their poor victim's exoskeleton. Arrow-shaped micrathenas are completely harmless to humans—in fact, their bite is compared to that of a mosquito.

[badolmen]

You CANT do this without showing me your spidersona!!! I need to see it!!!

(It’s batty-sketches, FYI. I can’t figure out out to make asks from my minor blogs)

OKAY so technically I goofed - your spider inspiration is a Gasteracantha cancriformis aka the spiny backed orbweaver (which used to be in the same genus as my spider inspiration- damn taxonomical changes). What threw me off was the coloring - those guys tend to be more black and white in my experience (your ref for comparison):

The yellow made me think about my spider inspiration - the lovely Micrathena segittata aka the arrow shaped micrathena aka the pikachu spider:

Anyways my misidentification aside here’s Zoom in her like year or two old unshaded sketchy glory.

#ra apeaks #answered asks #spiders #spider #spidersona #bats at the disco #I think I gave up after I finished the web lines on that first sketch #like nope sorry spider theme is too much I shall make her a playlist and not honk abt her until I see a spidersona that reminds me of her #also batty your art fucking slaps and your sona is gorgeous :D

[gyrrakavian]

Hypothetical Pokemon region based on the Midwest

Unova is based on the East Coast, and the channel Mr. Buddy already did a video on a hypothetical region based on the Western United States, so I figured I’d write up one for a region based on the Midwest. If someone else wants to take a stab at this, be my guest. [IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, & WI]

It gets a bit rambly and isn’t entirely complete as I had trouble placing some of the gym types and there’s just so many choices for who to base the gym leaders and Elite Four on. But, I do throw out some suggestions here and there.

Terrain: There's shortgrass and tallgrass plains, mountains, semi-arid areas, lakes and rivers.

Starters: Region starters would be based on a tiger salamander, American badger, and the Eastern red bat (water, grass & fire respectively).

As to what the starters would end up as type wise; flying-fire for the bat is pretty obvious, but what about either a grass-ground or a grass-fight typing for the badger? I figured the water starter would more resemble a Hellbender in its final form and would have either the counter-intuitive typing of rock-water or dark-water from the Hellbender’s preferred habitat.

Other new Pokemon: New animal pokemon would likely be based around the alligator snapping turtle, American bison, copperhead or cottonmouth, coyote, either golden or bald eagle (we've got both), an egret or a heron, a hawk, mastodon (fossil), mudskipper, red and grey wolves, river otter or beaver, porcupine, prairie dog, pronghorn, sandpiper, stinkpot (a type of turtle), a toad, and warbler. There's so many possible bug types I made a separate list: arrowhead orbweaver, arrow-shaped micrathena, at least 2 beetles (probably a borer, water beetle, or tortoise beetle), a centipede, katydid, luna moth, a rodent or two (several to choose from), a jumping spider (probably Sassacus papenhoei or Phidippus audax) prairie walkingstick,  sweat bee, tolype or other woolly moth, a tortoise beetle, a weevil, and the white-lined sphinx moth.

If we were to get a new deer pokemon, a grass-ghost or ground-ghost typing would be interesting to see.

New plant-based pokemon would be based on boneset (Eupatorium), corn, soy, cottonwood tree, snakeroot (Asarum canadense), snakeroot (Polygala senega), wheat, and some of the various wildflowers.

New object-based pokemon would be based on scarecrow (ghost-grass), and American Civil War era cannons and mortars (ghost-steel), and a microphone.

Legendaries: Legendaries would probably be based on the Thunderbird (flying-electric), the The Water Panther (water-dragon) and a giant horned serpent (dark-dragon or dark-water).

Places and Cities: Major cities would be based on Branson, Chicago, Clevand, Detroit, Indianopolis, Kansas City, Milwauke, St. Louis, and Wichita. The notable sites would likely be be based on both Native American and Civil War sites in the region. With both the Mississipian culture (with emphasis on Cahokia) and the various Civil War battle sites and forts throughout the region. It would be interesting to see the St. Louis as something of a reconstruction of Cahokia in its heyday. Mount Rushmore would also likely be referenced in some way (both the presidents and Crazy Horse monuments). Being that Kansas has one of the world's largest salt deposits under it, the salt mine in Hutchison would also make a good spot to visit. Areas based on Nebraska and Iowa would likely get mashed together, same for the Dakotas. Kansas would be spared getting mashed in with Iowa and Nebraska due to the sheer number of ghosttowns the state has.

There'd be no getting around the regions history with both the Wild West and Prohibition. So, activities could include something based around either. Maybe a cattle drive sidequest, or a quickdraw event. Though, both would work as basis for the plot as well.

Routes: Special routes would include extreme hot-cold shifts, tornadoes, and prairie fires.

Gyms and Gym leaders: Considering the vast amount of history in the region, there's all manner of historical figures to draw from for the basis of gym leaders. Several writers, musicians, actors and artists, as well as notable inventors, atheletes and outlaws. Thirteen presidents were elected from the region, as well 11 US presidents having been born in the region. Plus, Eisenhower was raised in and retired in Kansas.

Just listing writers alone: Ray Bradbury, Gordon Parks, Truman Capote, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, William Allen White, Ernest Hemmingway, Mark Twain, Betty Friedan, Charles Schulz, Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Philips), David Mamet, Carl Sandburg, Ann Landers (Esther Lederer), (James) Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Garrison Keller, Standing Bear, Erma Bombeck, Zane Grey, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Michigan would have the water and steel gyms, Wisconsin the poison and ice gyms (Milwaukee breweries), Kansas the flying and ghost gyms (Air Capital of the World), Nebraska-Iowa would have the grass and normal gyms, the Dakotas would have the ground and fighting gyms. Missouri would have the rock gym for certain (the Ozarks) and something else. I wasn't really too sure about what all the other states would have. Maybe fairy and normal type gyms for Ohio? Anybody have any other suggestions for the rest?

The only gym leader I could really peg down would be for the Wichita gym. She'd be based on Amelia Earhart and two of the other trainers in the gym should be based on Clyde Cessna and Bill Lear. Though, I was thinking maybe John Brown (the dude was f---ing nuts) as basis for the ghost gym leader.

Elite Four: Again, tons of historical figures and artisans to choose from. If we went with entertainers, Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and the Ringling Brothers. If singers, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and Bob Dylan. If inventors; The Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, John Deere, and John Atanasoff (inventor of the digital computer).

You get the idea.

#pokemon #hypotheticals #just for fun #the midwest #hypothetical pokemon region

[fabbugs]

Please excuse the terrible photo, I took this with my phone and as you can see from the detail on my hand, the spider was very small! 

I’m pretty sure this is a female white micrathena orbweaver (Micrathena mitrata). I found it in my yard, at the center of an enormous orbweb that stretched several feet in every direction. 

I’ve seen a ton of spiny and arrow-shaped micrathena on the ID-based subreddits I participate in, but never a white one. I’ve never spotted one IRL, either. Did not know much about them at all until I read the bugguide.net entry; their genus name apparently comes from the Greek adjective for ‘small’ and the name of the goddess Athena. 

Good to see you, smol Athena! 

#a bad photo by me #spider #micrathena #orbweaver #micrathena mitrata #Virginia #bugspotting