Pirata species (?) |
Identification: See Plate 13 in Spiders & Scorpions of Texas and accompanying text. |
Filename: /images/2003/Spiders/2003-10-30-Wolf-spider-on-Buffalo-Gourd-near-Pond-1-East-at-HB.-There-were-thousands-of-these.jpg |
About this photo:This is another photo taken while mentoring elementary school students at Hornsby Bend. The yellow object is a small, wild, inedible gourd called "Buffalo Gourd." They are very common around the ponds at HB. The gourd is about the size of a small lemon, which gives you some idea of the scale. There were thousands of these spiders, ranging in size from tiny (about .1") to small (about 1cm or .25") for the body. This was one of the larger ones. They were hunting at high speed on the ground and the gourds. They moved incredibly fast. I had the camera set to take several frames in quick succession. One frame shows a spider on a gourd; the next frame shows the same gourd with no spider a fraction of a second later. Based on the size, general appearance, habitat, and hunting activity, I think this is problably some spider in the genus Pirata, but that's just a guess. |