I: Butterflies caught in spider web

[Diego Reggianti]

 Hy, the spider seems to be an argiope, i do not know wich species.
 It seem interesting to me that the spider don't even try to nest the
 butterfly.  I think that it must have recognized from the colour that the
 butterfy would have not been tasty. (this is just my thought).

 Ciao Ciao
 Diego Reggianti
 acherontia at iol.it

 -----Messaggio Originale-----
 Da: Oscar Gutierrez <romgut at hotmail.com>
 A: <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
 Data invio: domenica 29 agosto 1999 0.52
 Oggetto: Butterflies caught in spider web


 > Near where I work there is a small pond that is surrounded by brush and
 > wildflowers. I usually go and take a walk around the pond for lunch. The
 > other day I came across a large spider web which had a monarch butterly
 > struggling to escape. A large yellow and black spider was waiting
> patiently
 > for the butterfly to stop struggling. As I got closer to the web I could
> see
> > that a spicebush swallowtail had also been a victim of this web. Below
the
> > web was another spicebush swallowtail that had already been eaten and
> > discarded. I had my camera with me and I was able to capture the scene.
> You
> > can see the picture at:
> >
> > http://members.xoom.com/mediaarts/spiderbutterfly.html
> >
> > Does anyone know what kind of spider this is? I watched the monarch
> > vigorously flap its wings trying to escape but to no avail. I considered
> > tearing the web and allowing the butterfly to escape but decided against
> it
> > and allowed nature to take its course. After about twenty minutes the
> > scenario did not change. The butterfly kept struggling and the spider
just
> > waited patiently.  I eventually had to go back to work.
> >
> > After work I was curious as to what had happened and went back to where
> the
> > web was expecting to see the monarch wrapped in silk. But when I arrived
> the
> > monarch was gone and there was a hole in the web where the butterfly had
> > been.  I assume the butterfly's effort finely gained it its freedom. I
> found
> > it interesting to observe the small dramas that can play out everyday
and
> > are usually never witnessed.
> >
> > You can check out some of my butterfly images at my website:
> >
> > http://members.xoom.com/mediaarts
> >
> > -Oscar
> >
> > ______________________________________________________
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> >
>