Drama !

Last week, I stumbled upon a spider web without a spider in it. I followed the thread of the web to a leaf wrapped up in silk. There within a silk chamber was the spider. I don't know the species or even the family, but I will pretend that it's an orb spider (and I am likely correct).

To entice it out of its chamber for a better picture, I needed........a sacrifice.

Sorry to say there were some ants nearby foraging on nectar, so I took one lucky fellow up and cast her into the web. I admit that I felt a tinge of remorse.

 Poor ant.

A few days later, I tried to check on the orb spider again. Let's call her Spidee for we all love naming spiders, no?

I found Spidee not in her chamber. Instead, I found another web nearby with traces of Spidee's activities.

Spidee's web claimed more lives.

Then I found Spidee...or what was part of her.

Spidee has grown into a new outfit, leaving behind her old, pale former outfit.

(technically, this meant that the spider has molted, breaking off its former exoskeleton and replacing it with a new one. Here was its former exoskeleton.)

But WHERE WAS SPIDEE?!


Oh there she is! On a nearby branch.

Wait...that ain't right!

No~~!! Spidee has fallen to another spider, this one a jumping spider if I am not mistaken. When I arrived at the murder scene, Spidee was firmly clasped in the jumping spider's fangs and legs. Spidee might have given a struggle, as a small part of her legs has broken off.

How did Jumpie actually claim Spidee's life? Did Jumpie break into Spidee's silk chamber, or lured Spidee out by faking a prey caught on Spidee's web? Spidee was just as huge as Jumpie, so I find it hard to imagine Jumpie having an easy time if the attack wasn't facilitated by an ambush or toxin.
K, toxins are guaranteed.


Trying to get a better view, I tried to pester Jumpie into moving to a nice spot. Obviously offended, Jumpie released Spidee and jumped off!

So I managed to get close up pics of Spidee after she has passed on, but I was very sorry.
If Spidee was killed, the best thing was to at least have her eaten by Jumpie! Now her death was truly in vain.

Wasn't Spidee beautiful? She carried what looked like a "Tree of Life" on her back! or a "Rising Phoenix".

What was eating was then eaten.
Life.
Too bad I wasn't there to record the whole drama., only what was left of it.