Green lynx spider with hatchlings
Click for greater clarity.
On December 1st last year, upon approaching a prairie flameleaf sumac tree (Rhus lanceolata) in Cedar Park to photograph its fall foliage, I noticed that one bunch of leaflets had been pulled together to make a shelter. I soon figured out that a green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) had created the shelter as a nest. Plenty of hatchlings scurried about, no doubt disturbed by my close presence and the closer presence of my camera.
Of the various pictures I took there, I chose to show this one because the two curved sumac leaflets in the upper right with the hatchlings on them somehow reminded me of a Hokusai wave. (Hey, that’s all the way over in Japan, so my imagination has a right to be far-fetched.)
© 2018 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Beautiful!
Bonnie Michelle
February 2, 2018 at 7:07 AM
Hi, Bonnie. Happy winter.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 7:28 AM
Love the spiders. Nice catch.
Sherry Felix
February 2, 2018 at 7:49 AM
Thanks. I think it was a first for me.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 8:32 AM
“Hatchlings” is such a great word, and these hatchlings are amazing. They appear to be tiny duplicates of the adult. I see these conglomerations of web and plant parts from time to time, but rarely see the spiders. I’m more likely to come across crab spiders hidden away, waiting for lunch.
shoreacres
February 2, 2018 at 8:24 AM
My impression is that the hatchlings are indeed tiny duplicates of the adult. Even if that’s not correct, I do know that as each young spider grows it occasionally sheds its old, constricting exoskeleton and produces a larger one.
Like you, when I find a spider it’s usually by itself, and is most often a crab spider on or near a flower.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 8:40 AM
What an interesting-looking spider, and nice shot. And an interesting lynk to the Japanese painting. The hatchlings look like they’re enjoying their sumac playground, swings and slides. I’ve never seen one of these lynx spiders, we’re too far north, but the article said they can squirt venom up to a foot?!
Robert Parker
February 2, 2018 at 8:59 AM
The hatchlings were scampering about, all right, even if some of that activity came in response to my movements; I do have to get in close for good pictures of such small subjects. In central Texas this spider is fairly common, and often greener than the one shown here. That greenness makes for appealing pictures:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/one-green-succumbs-to-another/
I didn’t know that these spiders can squirt venom.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 10:35 AM
Oh yes, I see the wave. I really like this wonderful shot of spiders. I like how it takes a moment for my eye to spot them.
melissabluefineart
February 2, 2018 at 9:03 AM
And then there’s the reward that comes from suddenly recognizing their presence (like me with that under-ice frog a few weeks ago).
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 10:37 AM
Yes exactly. I love that experience in the field, and you succeeded in creating that in a photograph. Both photographs.
melissabluefineart
February 3, 2018 at 8:13 AM
Although I’ve occasionally managed to capture hidden things, I’ve long wondered how many others I’ve missed. I assume the missed things greatly outnumber the ones I’ve found.
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2018 at 9:03 AM
I think the world is one big treasure hunt that we get to explore and enjoy, sometimes seeking out the hidden, sometimes sitting back and drinking in the bigger picture.
melissabluefineart
February 4, 2018 at 9:37 AM
That treasure hunt is a pleasure hunt.
Steve Schwartzman
February 4, 2018 at 10:10 AM
It sure is.
melissabluefineart
February 5, 2018 at 9:10 AM
And familiarity with Hokusai’s print might have disposed you to see the wave.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 10:38 AM
I really love that print. Some pieces of art, and music for that matter, seem inevitable somehow, don’t they?
melissabluefineart
February 3, 2018 at 8:12 AM
I’ve heard of Mozart’s music being described that way.
As you know, the Impressionists (and Van Gogh) were influenced by Japanese art. Monet had a print of the Great Wave in his house.
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2018 at 8:43 AM
That took me by surprise when I first heard it but then I think Japan had only then opened up to trade, I believe? Think how wondrous and strange their culture must have seemed.
melissabluefineart
February 4, 2018 at 9:40 AM
Strange indeed, in both directions. Here’s what I found out about the opening of Japan:
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/opening-to-japan
Steve Schwartzman
February 4, 2018 at 10:19 AM
Isn’t it cool to read how all the pieces fit together? I love that.
melissabluefineart
February 5, 2018 at 9:09 AM
Me too. I’ve sometimes, even often, regretted not having majored in history and pursuing it as a career.
Steve Schwartzman
February 5, 2018 at 9:26 AM
Great photo with all of the hatchlings! I have never seen that!
montucky
February 2, 2018 at 9:59 AM
I’m not sure I ever had, either, at least not in such quantity and so clearly. We never know what we’ll come across in nature. Experience says that as long as we keep putting ourselves out there often enough, new finds will keep coming our way.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 10:40 AM
Most definitely!
montucky
February 2, 2018 at 9:31 PM
Then here’s to the unknown that’s yet to be known.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 9:48 PM
Spider child care …
Great photo
kestrelart
February 2, 2018 at 4:47 PM
Thanks. You’ve put it in a rather human way, yet it’s accurate.
Steve Schwartzman
February 2, 2018 at 7:22 PM
At first I only saw leaves and webbing (suffering from serious head cold that has dulled my senses) then suddenly the mother popped out into perfect clarity. After that the babies were easy to see. Your vision of the Hokusai wave pushed my brain to see that one of the little spiders is perfectly poised for “shooting the curl”. This caused me to go here: http://www.thesurfingsite.com/Surf-Slang.html and I soon realized there were a few more small spider surfers in a “line up” for this wave. 😉
Green spiders are lovely and the least threatening of any. Perhaps it is their jewel like quality?
Lynda
February 3, 2018 at 6:59 AM
Sorry to hear about your cold. One way it worked in your favor here is to have delayed recognition of the spider, so that you got a happy surprise when it suddenly crystallized into view. That non-recognition probably works in the spider’s favor, too, as camouflage. Don’t know if we can attribute your “shooting the curl” and “line up” views of the spiderlings to your cold or to a far-fetched imagination (or both).
As for green, this species of spider is often much more so than the one I found on the flameleaf sumac:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/one-green-succumbs-to-another/
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2018 at 8:28 AM
I was a California Girl and watched Gidget and all the surfer flicks in Jr High and HS. and, well, a far-fetched imagination helps plenty! 😉
Lynda
February 10, 2018 at 5:02 PM
Hey, California girl, surf’s up! I’m glad I got you to wave at your past.
Steve Schwartzman
February 10, 2018 at 6:25 PM
The Green Lynx spider is one of my favorites! They look barbaric, but they are really a pleasant spider to watch. I see them all around the house here in the summer months. We don’t generally see them much after October or November. This mother was very clever to place her nest in such a location.
Littlesundog
February 3, 2018 at 10:00 AM
It’s good to know someone who’s familiar with this species, which is pretty common in Austin. I don’t know much about spiders, but this is one whose color makes it easy to recognize. I never thought about seasonality, but now that you mention it, December was probably pretty late in the year to see a green lynx. The rare bit of snow that fell here came a week later.
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2018 at 11:07 AM
I wrote about an encounter with a green lynx. I am so thankful I took the time to document her short time in my basil patch: https://littlesundog.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/a-killing-freeze/
Littlesundog
February 3, 2018 at 5:13 PM
Thanks for the link. It’s good that you got to see and document so much of the story. That’s an advantage of having found your green lynx at home, where you could return so often.
Steve Schwartzman
February 3, 2018 at 5:29 PM