Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Showing posts with label Irish Spiders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irish Spiders. Show all posts

Wednesday 11 August 2021

MEADOW SPIDER (Pardosa saltans) female with egg sack Girley Bog, Natural Heritage Area (NHA), Scurlockstown, Kells, Co. Meath, Ireland


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Click external link here for detailed wolf spider information
 
The Meadow Spider (Pardosa saltans) or Meadow Wolf Spider is of the family Lycosidae which is in the genus Pardosa. This is a small dark species but there are a number of similar wolf spiders so it can only be identified with 100% certainty by microscopic examination.

"Requires examination at high magnification in good lighting, typically examination of the genitalia." Bee, L., Oxford, G., & Smith, H. (2020). Britain's Spiders: A Field Guide. Second Edition. Princeton University Press.

Thursday 15 July 2021

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) female waiting to ambush a HEATHER COLLETES BEE (Colletes succictus) Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


 


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Click external link here for detailed
Flower Crab Spider information
Click external link here for detailed Heather Colletes Bee information
 
The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena.
The Heather Colletes Bee (Colletes succictus) is of the family Colletidae which is in the genus Colletes.

Wednesday 16 December 2020

COMMON GARDEN SPIDER (Araneus diadematus) [female] Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information

The Common Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) or Cross Spider is of the family Araneidae which is in the genus Araneus. This widespread large orb-weaver spider occurs in Europe as well as North America. There are a number of colour variations and the pale distinctive cruciform markings on its back clearly identifies it.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Friday 13 November 2020

Sunday 8 November 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) [female with prey] on MEADOW BUTTERCUP WILDFLOWER (Ranunculus acris) Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed
Flower Crab Spider information
Click here for detailed Meadow Buttercup Wildflower information
 
The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena.
The Meadow Buttercup Wildflower (Ranunculus acris) is of the family Ranunculaceae which is in the genus Ranunculus.

Sunday 1 November 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) [female] on DEVIL'S BIT SCABIOUS WILDFLOWER (Succisa pratensis) Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed
Flower Crab Spider information
Click here for detailed Devil's-bit Scabious Wildflower information
 
The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena.
The Devil's-bit Scabious Wildflower (Succisa pratensis) is of the family Caprifoliaceae which is in the genus Succisa.

Saturday 31 October 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) [male] Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information

The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena. It occurs in the temperate regions of Europe and North America where it is known as Goldenrod Crab Spider or more simply Flower Spider. 
Only the female can change colour normally either from white to yellow or visa versa but this can be a protracted process. The minute black and white male can be a real challenge to locate.

 Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Monday 26 October 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) [Female] Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information

The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena. It occurs in the temperate regions of Europe and North America where it is known as Goldenrod Crab Spider or more simply Flower Spider. 
Only the female can change colour normally either from white to yellow or visa versa but this can be a protracted process. The minute black and white male can be a real challenge to locate.

 Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Friday 23 October 2020

LESSER GARDEN SPIDER (Metellina segmentata) Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland

 
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Click here for detailed species information

The Lesser Garden Spider (Metellina segmentata) is of the family Tetragnathidae which is in the genus Metellina.This is a common late summer and autumn species of orb spider. Seperate with care from the extremely similiar
Summer Orbweaver (Metellina mengei) which tends to occure earlier in the season but they can overlap. 
 On female Lesser Garden Spider the black strip beneath the abdomen ends at the epigyne. On Summer Orbweaver the black stripe is more extensive and the male has long hairs on the underside of the fore tarsi. Examination by microscope is the only 100% reliable means of 
identification of these two species.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / RAW birds

 

Wednesday 19 August 2020

Saturday 15 August 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) [Female with Blow-fly prey] Lullymore West Bog, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information

The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena. It occurs in the temperate regions of Europe and North America where it is known as Goldenrod Crab Spider or more simply Flower Spider.  
Only the female can change colour normally either from white to yellow or visa versa but this can be a protracted process. The minute black and white male can be a real challenge to locate.

 Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Monday 20 July 2020

FLOWER CRAB SPIDER (Misumena vatia) female with bumblebee prey Lullymore West Bog, I.P.C.C. Nature Reserve, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information

The Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in the genus Misumena. It occurs in the temperate regions of Europe and North America where it is known as Goldenrod Crab Spider or more simply Flower Spider.  
Only the female can change colour normally either from white to yellow or visa versa but this can be a protracted process. The minute black and white male can be a real challenge to locate.

 Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Monday 1 June 2020

CRAB SPIDER [Female] (Misumena vatia) with prey Lullymore West Bog, I.P.C.C. Nature Reserve, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland


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Click here for detailed species information
The Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) is of the family Thomisidae which is in genus Misumena. It occurs in the temperate regions of Europe and North America where it is known as the Goldenrod Crab Spider or more simply the Flower Spider. Only the female can change colour normally either from white to yellow or visa versa but this can be a protracted process. The minute black and white male can be a real challenge to locate.

 Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds