over the weekend following dc, when the pebbles had gone back to nz, dad and i headed to north carolina to visit some family. on our way back on sunday, we stopped at one of many tourable cave systems on a whim. the guide was less than spectacular - winning combination of having given the same spiel way too many times, and speaking through an apparent mouthful of marbles - but ignoring him and some obnoxious co-tourers, the rock formations were worth seeing. (i only had my video camera so the stills are dad's.)
after minnesota, we headed out to washington, dc for a week, me to work and the smithsonian and the pebbles to enjoy the sights, people-watching and dense squirrel populations of the nation's capitol. and indeed, there were people, sights and squirrels.
and of course, there were more squirrels.
today is a slightly unorthodox edition - we're revisiting Trite planiceps, a species already featured here once, but since the available technology is much improved in the meantime, and since the specimen i found crawling up the curtains yesterday was so particularly fine, i think it's worth it.
this salticid is apparently often encountered in nz homes, although its more natural habitat is rolled-up flax leaves. several studies have been conducted on T. planiceps, concluding that it can hunt non-visually (unusual for a jumping spider) and that individuals may pick up pheromone cues from silk spun by members of the opposite sex.
personally, i like T. planiceps for several reasons - it's quite distinctive, with its dark cephalothorax and grunty front legs; it seems to be a fairly calm salticid, making recording it easier than it is in some other subjects; and it obligingly takes offered prey, although it seemed to lose interest quickly in the unfortunate amphipod i sacrificed.
on the morning we left the lake for this year, i got up to watch the sunrise and to walk my dad's trail in the woods across the road. here's what i saw.
new zealand has one protected spider species - the nelson cave spider (with the beautiful binomial Spelungula cavernicola, family Gradungulidae). as the name suggests, it dwells in limestone caves in the north-central south island, where it feeds on cave weta (Gymnplectron spp.) by descending on them from above and hoisting them off the ground/wall to hang in midair, where they cannot escape. with its 15cm-legspan, Spelungula is one of our largest spiders, yet remarkably little is known about it - i could only find two pages with any information (from te papa and arkive), and one source of photos, so these beautiful images are courtesy of ryan photographic. apparently a master's thesis was undertaken on the nelson cave spider in the mid-1990s, but never published.
Spelungula appears to be a long-lived species, with a lifespan of perhaps five years. it also reproduces slowly, creating a large, spherical egg sac that hangs from the cave ceiling by silken threads. with the estimated population of mature individuals being less than 250, it's no wonder this species is currently believed to be critically endangered. and... that really does appear to be all that's known (or hypothesized). i have a strange urge to go caving in nelson...
no trip to the northwoods is complete without a pilgrimage to lake itasca, the headwaters of the mississippi river. no matter how many times i've been there before, i still love to wade across the ankle-deep stream within its first few recognizable meters, and wade downstream until it's nearly hip-deep. it's humbling to contemplate where the low, quiet water flowing through the woods will eventually wind up. the river actually flows north for its first few dozen miles and is a beautiful, several-day canoe trip (as illustrated in this beautiful children's book). i paddled it with a friend in 2003 and seldom have i spent a more peaceful four days, or seen fewer people - we stayed in several campsites that were river-access only and no one else was anywhere nearby. we did see snapping turtles, eagles, herons, and wild otters.
even in itasca state park, which on any beautiful summer day will be crawling with tourists from near and far, there are good flora and fauna to be seen if you take the time.
over the weekend that followed our first week at the cabin, we traveled down to the twin cities to host 'we do - part 2,' the north american component of our wedding. the celebratory activities included a hair-raising, stress-relieving, rootin'-tootin' good visit to valleyfair; a ceremini complete with cutting of the wedding cheese; a dinner cruise on the st croix river; a picnic brunch at como park; and a tour of the historic james j. hill mansion in st paul.
of course, out of all those activities, the most interesting wildlife and photo ops were at como park.
