Scorpion under black light

So I know this has been done before, but I had to see for myself how our little bark scorpions would look in black light. The following two photos are essentially the same photo, but with the first under white light only, and the second under black light. I think it's pretty neat. I found it interesting that the tip of the stinger and the tips of some of the mouth parts are black and do not respond to the black light as does the rest of the animal.

Neat arthropods on plants

Green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) on Variableleaf sunflower (Helianthus heterophyllus)



Blister beetle (family Meloidae) on Pineland false foxglove (Agalinis divaricata)



Crab spider (family Thomisidae) on Variableleaf sunflower



likely Pink prominent (Hyparpax aurora) moth larva on underside of turkey oak (Quercus laevis) leaf



Spotted apatelodes (Apatelodes torrefacta) moth eating gallberry (Ilex glabra)

Trapdoor Spider

Living in Florida, I don't get to see tarantulas like I did when we were in Texas. While not as large, Trapdoor spiders are a really neat relative of tarantulas. Here's a male that I found crossing a road recently.


Trapdoor spider (Ummidia sp)

Trapdoor spiders are so named because they build burrows in the ground, and cover the entrance with a hinged, camouflaged "trapdoor." They wait inside for vibrations of potential prey near their entrance, throw open the door, and grab the unsuspecting prey.