Sex in the sun
Jul. 5th, 2004 04:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaneramosI'm home for a few hours to organize camping gear, and wanted to post this picture, taken on July 1 at Lake Fletcher, of two dock spiders (Dolomedes sp.) preparing for coitus.
They each have leg spans of about 5 cm (2 in.) and can get a little larger. They are shy and mostly harmless, biting only upon serious provocation. I have never had a bite, but apparently they are not especially painful. They do not build webs, but live along the shoreline feeding on insects and small fish. They are also known as fishing spiders or raft spiders.
Every sunny day at the cottage we see them basking. Soon the female will be seen carrying around an egg case as large as her abdomen. We share the dock skittishly.
The male is lighter-coloured and has an abdomen smaller than its head, while the female is dark and has a larger abdomen. The male had already mounted when I found them. He was quite cautious and tactile, leaping away at the slightest provocation. The female held quite still. Then he mounted again, facing backwards, probing her abdomen with his palps, the two relatively short appendages near his mouth. At the height of intercourse, he folded his hind legs under her forelegs as if to hold her still. I suppose his survival depended on a correct performance.
For an image of closer arachnid intimacy,
If I have time before departure today I might post some less gruesome memories of Canada Day.
They each have leg spans of about 5 cm (2 in.) and can get a little larger. They are shy and mostly harmless, biting only upon serious provocation. I have never had a bite, but apparently they are not especially painful. They do not build webs, but live along the shoreline feeding on insects and small fish. They are also known as fishing spiders or raft spiders.
Every sunny day at the cottage we see them basking. Soon the female will be seen carrying around an egg case as large as her abdomen. We share the dock skittishly.
The male is lighter-coloured and has an abdomen smaller than its head, while the female is dark and has a larger abdomen. The male had already mounted when I found them. He was quite cautious and tactile, leaping away at the slightest provocation. The female held quite still. Then he mounted again, facing backwards, probing her abdomen with his palps, the two relatively short appendages near his mouth. At the height of intercourse, he folded his hind legs under her forelegs as if to hold her still. I suppose his survival depended on a correct performance.
For an image of closer arachnid intimacy,
If I have time before departure today I might post some less gruesome memories of Canada Day.
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Date: 2004-07-05 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 02:52 pm (UTC)I've seen damselflies and crane-flies going at it, but never spiders. That's so totally cool.
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Date: 2004-07-05 03:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:39 pm (UTC)I'm missing LJ; haven't had a chance to read for a couple of weeks now. Today has been a frenzy. This is only the second time I have planned an overnight canoe trip (Marian was my companion on the first one, two years ago, too). For the first time we'll be portaging with all our gear. It is a far cry from regular camping. All equipment has to be pared down to a bare minimum. Food must be as light as possible, too. It makes one think differently about things.
Anyway, I hope you and Bill are well. I expect to be home again on the weekend for a few days.
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Date: 2004-07-05 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-05 05:44 pm (UTC)Tomorrow my eldest daughter and I will start a 3-night canoe trip in Algonquin Park, so I hope to bring back some nice photography.
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Date: 2004-07-05 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-10 08:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-22 11:56 am (UTC)