Posted by Tim Gregory on March 31, 2009 at 6:06 PM
I picked up my MP-E 65mm and Macro flashes at the weekend, intent on doing some of the bugs and other stuff during the spring. I found this spider in the garden with what appears to be some sort of parasite clinging too it. It made my skin crawl, and I know its not the best picture but I thought i'd post it because i've not seen anything like it before!
Any ideas what the parasite actually does? I assume it'll kill the spider, but is it perhaps related to some sort of Wasp?
I'm not sure what it is or what it does but if it's any good at being a parasite, it won't kill the spider, at least until it moves on from its present phase in the life cycle. The genus 'orb-spider' (to be very scientific about it) springs to mind but I have no idea if that's right or not.
To clone/crop out the bits down the right hand side would help I think.
Wow, is this in the UK? It's likely to be the larvae of a parasitoid wasp. Unfortunately this is a terminal association, and the larvae will weave a cocoon around the host and the spider will eventually be consumed alive and die. Fascinating stuff!
Very interesting and unusual capture Tim, nice work. If what Dan says is true then there is a nice related article to be found on the BBC website here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/841401.stm
On a side note, there was some fantastic video footage of this in a recent BBC wildlife series - probably 'Life in the Undergrowth'. Well worth checking out.
Dan.
Posted by Tim Gregory on April 1, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Cheers
I'll keep my eye on it because it seems to have a web in the garden and "appears" to be acting normally, so i'll go and have another look tomorrow.
The MP-E 65 setup is very impressive, everything looks alien and bizarre, although its very difficult to use.. I'll try and get some better pictures tomorrow!
Interesting shot. The spider is a Tetragnatha species, and the parasitoid is a parasitic wasp larva of the subfamily Pimplinae (family Ichneumonidae). (Parasitoid rather than parasite, as it eventually kills the host).
Discussion
8 repliesAny ideas what the parasite actually does? I assume it'll kill the spider, but is it perhaps related to some sort of Wasp?
I'm not sure what it is or what it does but if it's any good at being a parasite, it won't kill the spider, at least until it moves on from its present phase in the life cycle. The genus 'orb-spider' (to be very scientific about it) springs to mind but I have no idea if that's right or not.
To clone/crop out the bits down the right hand side would help I think.
Nice capture.
Chris
Cheers,
Dan.
Thanks for taking the time to share with us.
Brett
Dan.
I'll keep my eye on it because it seems to have a web in the garden and "appears" to be acting normally, so i'll go and have another look tomorrow.
The MP-E 65 setup is very impressive, everything looks alien and bizarre, although its very difficult to use.. I'll try and get some better pictures tomorrow!
Interesting shot. The spider is a Tetragnatha species, and the parasitoid is a parasitic wasp larva of the subfamily Pimplinae (family Ichneumonidae). (Parasitoid rather than parasite, as it eventually kills the host).
Greg