Sitting in my mom's Florida lanai (screened patio), a shape on the ground just outside the screen kept catching my eye. The back of my brain kept saying "scorpion?", but the front was like "Nahh, no scorpions here!" Back of brain: "But LOOK at it!" Front: "It's debris! There are no scorpions here!"

This is because I'd never seen a scorpion in Florida, never heard anyone say anything about finding them; they were totally off my Florida radar. But finally the back won out as it pointed out that the shape I was seeing was too perfect for a scorpion, and I really should go check. It looked like a pale oval with a tail, and what appeared to be distinctively angled arms is what finally got me up.

Sure enough! A tiny dead scorpion lay there on its back, only 3 cm long. I was a bit alarmed when I looked it up and discovered they ARE around there, and apparently are not too uncommon.

The neighborhood has a pest control service, and I assume that's why it was dead. My mom has since moved to another house, where she has seen at least three more this year. The pest control guy there informed her that these scorpions live in the woods, and the new house was built on land that used to be woods cleared for the houses, while the old neighborhood was built on farmland where they're not commonly found.

Though dead, or perhaps because it was dead, it made an excellent subject on my black glass.

Much thanks to all of you for following my photos through another Arachtober! I appreciate your views and comments.

31 Arachtober 2023, Happy Halloween 3 of 3!

Hentz Striped Scorpion, Centruroides hentzi
Stone Creek, Ocala, FL • 26 January 2023

Tags:   60mmOMZD Arachnida Arthropods FL Ocala OnBlack animals dead e-m5III macro nature scorpions Florida United States bug bugs animal Animalia Arthropod Arthropoda chelicerate chelicerates Chelicerata Arachnid Arachnids Scorpion Scorpiones Buthidae Bark Scorpion Bark Scorpions Centruroides Centruroides hentzi Hentz Striped Scorpion P1261614

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A younger widow shows off that distinctive form and iconic red hourglass. If the hourglass is connected, it's a Southern; if broken, it's Northern.

31 Arachtober 2023, Happy Halloween 2b of 3!

Southern Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans
Richmond, VA • 20 May 2023

Tags:   60mmOMZD Arachnida Arthropods CobwebSpider Richmond VA animals e-m5III macro nature spiders spring widow Virginia United States bug bugs spider animal Animalia Arthropod Arthropoda chelicerate chelicerates Chelicerata Arachnid Arachnids Araneae Araneomorphae Entelegynes Cobweb Spiders Theridiidae Black Widow Latrodectus Latrodectus mactans Southern Black Widow P5203340

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On a visit to see friends in Richmond, Art commented that he thought there might be black widows living in the stone retaining wall because he noticed that leaves had been drawn up from the ground in webs. I’ve never lived around widows and didn’t know this was a sign, but that night we ventured out with a flashlight and my camera to check it out. Sure enough, that low-lying wall turned out to be a spider condo!

Black widows are cobweb spiders, related to those Common House Spiders that live up to their name and therefore many of you have seen. These spiders build a dimensional tangle of web which also has “gumfoot” lines extending down to the ground. These lines contain sticky glue near their bottoms and a big glob of it at the end to stick it to the ground, holding the line under tension. When an insect walking under it triggers one of these lines, the glue grabs it and the release of tension causes the line to pop it up into the tangle trap. The spider can then use a “wrap style” attack, throwing lines of wet, sticky silk at its prey from some distance.

When we checked the next day, we couldn’t find even a toe sticking out; they tuck themselves up very well. Only those leafy webs recognized by Art remained to tell of their presence.

31 Arachtober 2023, Happy Halloween 2a of 3!

Southern Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans
Richmond, VA • 20 May 2023

Tags:   60mmOMZD Arachnida Arthropods CobwebSpider Richmond VA animals e-m5III macro nature spiders spring widow Virginia United States bug bugs spider animal Animalia Arthropod Arthropoda chelicerate chelicerates Chelicerata Arachnid Arachnids Araneae Araneomorphae Entelegynes Cobweb Spiders Theridiidae Black Widow Latrodectus Latrodectus mactans Southern Black Widow P5203359

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At the end of a night walk in my mom's neighborhood in Ocala, I spotted this wolf mother playing bus to her brood and ran down the street to get my camera, hoping she'd still be here on the pavement. She was, and stood unmoving while I got a variety of photos. After, concerned for her safety out on the sidewalk, I nudged her leg with a pine needle and she dashed into the grass.

I don't see these mothers often with their load, and the few times I have, they haven't been so cooperative, so this was a nice opportunity. I know this is some people's nightmare, while others can see the care of a mother for her offspring. Wolf mothers carry their babies around for a while after they hatch, even bringing them to water where the youngsters disembark to drink before climbing back aboard.

31 Arachtober 2023, Happy Halloween 1 of 3!

Wolf Spider, Tigrosa annexa
Ocala, FL • 6 February 2023

Tags:   60mmOMZD Arachnida Arthropods FL Ocala animals e-m5III macro nature spiders Florida United States bug bugs spider animal Animalia Arthropod Arthropoda chelicerate chelicerates Chelicerata Arachnid Arachnids Araneae Araneomorphae Entelegynes Wolf Spider Wolf Spiders Lycosidae Tigrosa Tigrosa annexa taxonomy:binomial=Tigrosa annexa P2061649

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This guy definitely has his Halloween costume on! Isn’t he a fantastic horror show of eyes and fangs?? I personally happen to think him magnificent, but I know I’m biased. He’s a lover, not a fighter! Those long jaws are for holding his lady while he does his business, his palps extra long so they can reach where they need to from that position. I found him lounging on the deck railing of a fish-cleaning shack; perhaps he benefits from insects attracted to smelly fish bits. I saw a handful of them there that night; he was the largest.

30 Arachtober 2023, 2 of 2

Long-jawed Orbweaver, Tetragnatha sp.
Chester Frost Park, Hixson, Hamilton Co, TN
12 October 2023

Tags:   60mmOMZD Arachnida Arthropods TN animals e-m5III macro nature spiders PA129150 bug bugs animal Animalia Arthropod Arthropoda chelicerate chelicerates Chelicerata Arachnid Arachnids spider Araneae Araneomorphae Entelegynes Longjawed Orb Weaver Longjawed Orb Weavers Tetragnathidae Tetragnathid Tetragnatha

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