A Creepy, Crawly Halloween!

"Just Hangin'!"

I saved these photos especially for Halloween - I thought they were appropriately ghoulish;-) Let me just say I'm a big baby when it comes to spiders, and have been known not to enter a room when a spider is present. However, I recognize that they are usually beneficial visitors to gardens. So, when I saw this spider setting up residence in our plants, I let her be. At first, the Skippers kept getting caught. I didn't like seeing them being devoured, but there were so many, and I figured that Miss Spider needed to eat, too. I also figured, incorrectly, that Skippers would be as big as she could catch and eat... Then she caught a Common Buckeye. I left her alone, though, because Common Buckeyes didn't visit that often, so I hoped it would be the exception, not the rule. The very next day, this insatiable spider caught an Anise Swallowtail!!! I couldn't believe my eyes:-( At that point, I decided Miss Spider was uninvited, and needed to find a new home. I caught her and her prey on the bottom of the broom, and gave her a gentle ride over the wall. Sorry, but I wanted the butterflies to be safe while visiting my flowers. I had really hoped the grasshoppers would get caught, but I guess they're too wily, and are still out there munching my roses. P.S. These photos were taken over the course of four days in August. I never knew spiders were so voracious! There was initially a second spider, but it disappeared... or did it get eaten??? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

"The Mummy"

"Monster Mash"

"Gory!"

"Spider Bat" or "Bat Spider";-)

"Gift Wrapped"

"The Last Supper"

"Creepy Crawly!"

Hey! How did he get in here? Sighted last weekend on a drive:-)