Gaillardia World: Spiders

 It seemed to me that spider numbers were down this year.   I saw only a few spiders on Gaillardia pulchella, June-October, despite the constant presence of visiting insects.   A caveat:  Spiders are good at camouflage, so I certainly missed seeing some spiders.

Among the spiders I did see were Crab Spiders (Family Thomisidae): 

A crab spider (Misumenoides formosipes)

stages on Gaillardia, July 4, 2022. Many thanks to

entomologist Dick Beeman for the ID.

Here she holds a leaf-cutter bee in the genus Megachile.  

Note that the bee's abdomen is yellow with pollen, transported by 

this genus on the underbelly, rather than on the hind legs.  

However, this pollen's trip to the bee's nest  has turned into 

a dead-end.  July 4, 2022.

Perhaps the Megachile was a filling meal and now 

the spider feels it's time for a nap.   Here she is, on

Gaillardia in our front yard,

relaxing upside down in the sun.  July 4, 2022

A similar spider appeared on Gaillardia by the barn, also on July 4, 2022.  She had to hang on in the wind:  

Later in July, a smaller spider appeared:

A small crab spider on Gaillardia by the barn, 

July 20, 2022.  

And on July 22, a crab spider put in a cameo appearance as I was videorecording Fungus Weevils:   

Here a crab spider reaches lazily toward the fungus weevils

that are busily foraging for pollen, while ants zip about, 

around and over the others.  July 22, 2022

It wasn't until October 7, 2022 that I saw another crab spider on Gaillardia, in fact two of them.    One was shy about having her picture taken.   Luckily, with an 8-legged creature it is hard to hide all the body parts:

Well camouflaged:

A closer view:

Hard to spot:

There she is!

Where is she now?

I see her!

A crab spider on Gaillardia pulchella, Oct. 7, 2022.  

The second crab spider sought a protected place to spend the night, as temperatures fell toward freezing at night.  

This series of photos shows her withdrawing into a nighttime retreat formed from ray flowers stuck together:  

 

 

October 7, 2022.

Good night, Spider!

The season closer, however, was not a crab spider, but a Spotted Orb Weaver.   This spider in the genus Neoscona (thank you, bugguide.net, for the ID) settled into the Gaillardia patch by the barn for several nights of web spinning.    

Here she is in her web:

And here she is at work:  

A Spotted Orb Weaver at work in Gaillardia, October 15, 2022.

But following multiple frosts, harder freezes were coming.    How long could she live?  What could she find to eat?  These questions added pathos to her activities.   They made her lovely markings and skillful movements part of a world-in-itself---a precious moment in which time stood still.