PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Banana Spider

I thought that if I dedicated a post to a butterfly (everybody loves butterflies) than I had better dedicate a post to a spider (not many people like spiders). This gall (elegantly named Nephila clavipes) is the perfect candidate for one very obvious reason; she is drop-dead gorgeous. And besides all that, she is nearly the breadth of may hand from leg tip to leg tip, hence the name of banana spider. She has a number of other common names, but I like to call her Nephila. I know it's a she because the males are all little tiny blokes. Interestingly, the genus Nephila has been found as fossils which have been dated to about 165 million years ago. Living fossils like that are a challenge to Neo-Darwinianism. That species (N. jurassica) had a leg span of 15 centimetres (6 inches) and is the largest definitive spider fossil. The web of this spider is also of interest. The silk is so strong and beautifully gold (hence the common name of golden silk orb-weaver) that people sometimes try to make clothing out of it. This individual was photographed on September 21 of this year at Blackwater River State Park in the panhandle of Florida. Anyways, I hope this girl helps you appreciate the beauty of some of the other members of creation who might not seem as loveable at first glance.