From my kitchen window, I noticed something glistening and waving in the sunlight. I soon realized that it was a strand of silk spun by an Orb Weaver Spider. I followed the silken zip line, which was attached to two tall pine trees across the street on my neighbor's property. Looking upward, I discovered a large, perfect web with the spider sitting right in the middle (following shots).

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Tags:   Spiny Orb-weaver Spider Gasteracantha Arachnid animal wildlife fauna beneficial Collier County Naples Florida USA macro

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ABC's and 123's Group
8 Legs.

Tags:   eight-legged spider Arachnid ABC's and 123's 8 Legs Wolf Spider

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*Normal range for this jumping spider includes the western states of: Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington. It has also been found in south-western parts of Canada, Mexico, Louisiana, Missouri. A rare sighting of a Johnson's Jumping Spider had been documented in Illinois on July 7, 2017, and now I may have found one in my Orland Park, Illinois garden! (July 10, 2017) Other sightings include: one in Ohio on June 8, 2016 & one in North Carolina on August 5, 2015.

In 2012, a female Johnson's Jumper, named Nefertiti (The Chosen One), went on a 42-million-mile, 100-day space mission. You can follow these links for details of how she became a "spidernaut," what she did on her travels, and how she adapted to weightlessness:
www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/farewell-little-space-spider/
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/spiderna...

Tags:   Canon EOS 60D MP-E65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo Nefertiti With Her Turkey Equivalent jumping spider consuming prey sac rare out-of-range Johnson's arachnid Jumper female Orland Park Illinois USA Phidippus johnsoni

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