Writing in Biology

In this first class meeting I looked at a common basement spider that was in a clear plastic cup with a lid on it. The spider was light brown and fairly large compared to the other spiders that my classmates were looking at. This spider had 7 legs, which was unususal as most spiders have 8 legs. It looked as if one leg was ripped off prior to the spider being placed into the cup. The hind legs of the spider were significantly longer than the front legs. Each leg had 3 joints, and at each joint was a specific marking pattern that went black-white-black. The legs of this spider got progressivley thinner as they got further away from the body. I observed small hairs covering the legs and body of the spider. The most prominent marking on this spider was a black sesame seed shaped marking on the top of the head. I also noticed that the spider had 3 or 4 black eyes, and a mouth that resembled that of a crab. The spiders behavior was constant, varying between frantically moving around trying to escape, and not moving at all. I observed some thin white film that had stuck to the sides of the cup, which I predict was the spiders discharge in an attempt to spin a web. I asked myself why would the spider try to spin a web in such a confined space? The spider was symmertical if it were to be cut down the middle, with the exception of the missing leg on the left side. The thorax of the spider was where all of the leg protrusions came from, and the abdomen was signignificantly longer and the shape of a pea pod.

In class today, each student received their own spider in a plastic container to observe and write about. At first glance, the spider did not move much, so I observed its appearance.  My spider was a tan color with a variety of markings on its body. The first segment of the spider was tan and had eight legs coming out of it. The spider’s legs were tan with markings on its joints. At each joint, there were two black markings with a white marking in between. While the second segment of the spider was also tan, it had some darker, brown markings as well. Additionally, the spider had a black dot the very end of the second segment. Compared to the first segment, the second segment was much longer and wider.

In class on 09/07/18, 2:30 pm a cellar spider was brought into the room the spider had been placed inside a small sealed container compared to other cellar spiders in the classroom my individual spider was big. The cellar spider had been observed to be between two to three centimeters in lengnth and possibly one milimeter in width. The spider's body had distinct pattern two black dots above the head and eyes, one black dot on the tip of it's back abdomen, and a greyish yellow tint to it's overall coloration. Eight legs were found on the spider's body four on each side of the spider's abdomen and each leg had a specific black tint in where the legs were jointed. The spider remained relativey calm throught the investigation, though it did not respond to interaction as slightly shaking the cup did not produce movement from the spider.

Regarding the cephalothorax of this specimen, it seems to have two dark spots located on the top as well, which may be another set of eyes, and due to the nature of this spider they might be used simply for light detection and thus be less developed than its other sets of eyes. When we think about eyes, we tend to think about our own and asume that the rest of animals view the world in a very similar way as us. Nonetheless, there are many different kinds of eyes in nature, some more developed and complex than human eyes, others more simple and primitive. Since this specimen seems to be a cellar spider, we can asume that its habitat is mostly dark and moist, and in such environment possesing fully developed eyes capable of distinguishing shapes, features, and colors, may not be useful and actually have a great energy investment that does not compensate. Instead, maybe this species relies on other senses such as chemoreception or mechanoreception, and while some of its sets of eyes may actually have a tapetum or similar structure that allows them to see in the dark, the most probable role of the set of eyes located on top of the cephalothorax may be just perceiving subtle changes in light intensity, so that the spider has a way of telling if it is exposed to the open where it could be easily predated, or if it is instead inside a dark environment like a cellar where it has an advantage over its prey.

The spider observed has a light brown exterior with slightly darker appendages. The spider, including its appendages, was about the size of a quarter with the legs making up most of the area.  The legs of the spider appeared to be about the thickness of a piece of average hair. The abdomen of the spider was slightly darker than the head which is a very light brown. Where the appendage bends, there are areas which appeared to be slightly darker or slightly lighter like joints.  Each appendage contained 3 joints forming a trapezoid like shape. About a millimeter away from the terminal end of the leg, there was a final bend away from the body that connected with the surface supporting the spider. When the cup was moved, the spider tilted with it in order to stay upright.  The spider moved from the bottom of the cup to the top when flipped around. When hanging from the top of the cup the abdomen and head did not make contact with the cup. The spider seemed to be sticking to the top of the cup upside down with just its legs. The cup contained what appears to be the beginning of a web with small, white, tubular, thin filaments.  A few white and light brown dots were observed in the cup.

When the spider is stationary on its legs, its body does not touch the ground. At the moment, one of its legs is pointed upwards, almost as if it is trying to sense its surroundings. It is hard to tell where the web in the cup starts and ends. As I flip the cup over, the spider remains in its place despite previously appearing to be on the surface of the cup, suggesting that the spider was in its web the entire time. It is possible that the spider’s web extends throughout the entire cup since it appears to exist on opposite surfaces. This could give us clues as to how long the spider has been in the cup, especially if we are aware of the rate of its web-making. Perhaps the spider has been creating more of its web as I have been writing. Although I accidentally bumped the cup and sent the spider into a frenzy, it has calmed down. Overall, the spider is very calm in its environment.

At first observation, the spider doesn't seem to be doing anything. It appears to be hanging on its web. The spider has 8 long and thin legs attached to a short, thick, and translucent torso. The spider appears to have several eyes on its head, but I can't be sure without some sort of magnification. After nearly dropping the container, the spider is awake and moving rapidly around it. This stopped after 10 minutes, and the spider is now hanging on its web again. I tried to elicit some sort of response by using my phone's flashlight, but even after 15 seconds of light, the spider did not move.

There was a large spider in the plastic container given to me. While initially moving wildly, this quickly ceased. The spider itself has eight legs. It is light brown in color. However, the abdomen is darker in color and the largest part of the spiders body, other than its eight legs.

The spider seems too large for the small plastic container, given its long legs. Upon tapping the container, the spider began to move rapidly again, in what seemed to be a failed attempt to properly orientate itself into a proper position. (ie: to not be upsidedown). Occasionally the spider goes through spurts of rapid movement as it tried to properly orientate itself, followed by times of rest, where the spider will barely move.

The legs of the spider have two or more joints, two on the legs themselves where they bend. There are likely joints where the legs attach to the body proper as well. There is a darkened area at the first leg joints (not the possible joint that exists where the legs meet the body but the first joint on the leg itself, after 1cm or so). There may also be a somewhat darkened area, followed by a lighter or even transluent area at the second leg joint, although this is hard to see with the naked eye. There may be a joint between the thorax and abdomen of the spider, or at the very least this section has the capability of bending.

The legs of the spider are likely less than one milimeter in thickness but 2-3cm in length when fully extended. The body, from head to abdomen looks to be about 1cm in legnth and a few milimeters in thickness.Where the base of the leg touches the plastic container bends, suggesting the leg itself isnt entirely rigid. Though injury is possible.

The legs are too long to be kept in the container. While the front legs appear to be fine, they are smaller in size, the large back legs bundle and contort back on the spider. The legs themselves appear to have two joints where they are able to bend. This allows for three separate areas for the leg, an ascending, transverse, and a descending area. Of course, they could also straighten and you would be none the wiser at where this bending would occur save for the color designation. At each bend there are color bands of white and black that do not match the rest of the spider's coloration. While some legs have black, white, black bands, others consist of two bands of color or are solely white. The longest legs, which support the spider furthest from the head, are connected closest to the front of the spider.

The body of the spider has two clearly discernable segments. The smaller and most anterior of the two is where the eight legs connect. The larger segment shares the black coloration as the bands on the legs in two lines that meet at the end of the segment. The reverse side shows small red dots on the largest side closest to the point that the two segments join.

With the right light and angle, it is possible to observe the hairs on the spider's ;egs. At times the hairs make the legs themselves appear ti be segmented, but upon closer inspection of the larger rear legs it can be noted that this illusion comes from the fineness of the hairs. They are both thin and short, but stand on end.

The spider is relatively stationary when it is undisturbed. Whether this is a behavior due to its size and the confines of the container are unclear. It has been seen in more energetic states of movement where it is capable of both speed and dexterity. Again though, leg placement is hindered and the spider is not able to place/move as it desires (as far as one can tell of a spider's desires based on leg placement).

When holding the container upside down to view underneath the spider, it is possible to see two small protuberances from the head. these are most likely the pincers/fangs/grasping mechanism for the spider. Their movements and functionality remian unobserved.

Returnign to the structure of the legs, it seems that the third jointed segment, furthest from the body, ends in a thinner, curved part of the leg. It is this bowing in the leg that the spider stands upon.

Inside a small plastic container, a very small brown spider with distinctively long legs alternated between stillness and seemingly frantic movement. The spider appeared to be a very small “Daddy Long Legs.” It was about the size of an average pinky nail, with legs that were very long and slender in proportion to its midsection. Both its legs and the top of its midsection were a very pale brown, but the underside of its midsection was whitish. Its midsection was comprised of two round sections, one appeared to be a “head” and was small and round, while the other was a longer, slender oval, and appeared to be the body. It had 8 legs. The front legs, towards the head, were longer than the back legs. When the spider was in a resting position, most of its legs extended sharply up at a slight diagonal, relatively straight out, and then diagonally back down to the ground, forming an obtuse half rectangular shape. Those legs were triple jointed. A couple of its other legs were double jointed and extended up at a smaller angle relative to its body, and then back down.  It prodded constantly at the walls of the cup it was in, appearing to be making frantic efforts to escape. Its legs were able to move up and down, but also in a lateral motion. Sometimes it moved its legs in circular motions while it prodded at the edge of the cup. When it was not doing these movements, it remained completely still.