Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Wasp Spider nest

My aunt had spotted a white colored bulb-shaped nest in one of the mango trees next to her house. She remembered to show it to us during our cycling stopover last Sunday. The nest is anchored to the end of a stem. It's made of silky white threads woven around dry blades of grass or some kind of fibrous material. The nest's entrance, an inch in diameter is at the top. The nest is spherical, approximately 2.5" in diameter.

The spider has chosen a site carefully, its not visible in plain sight. The nest is concealed behind a curtain of leaves. One can spot it only on careful observation or by chance. I think my aunt saw it by chance, assumed it to be a bird's nest. As I know birds build nests with grass, twigs, leaves, etc. I'm unaware of any bird that weaves silky nests. With little research I happened to stumble on a photo of a similar looking nest with a caption "wasp spider nest." I know there are wasp spiders in these trees, had shot one many years ago. You can take a look at it here- tiger spider. Its limbs are yellow-black, like a tiger's pattern.

Here's another view of the nest. The nest could be several weeks old going by its looks.

I'll check it out during my next visit, let's see if there are changes to the nest. And, here's a picture of a wasp spider I shot some day in January 2010.

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