Taking a Closer Look

Sometimes the PhotoMuse just smiles on you! I've certainly posted photos of Mabel's Orchard Orb Weaver Spiders Leucauge argyrobapta  before. But this shot is special, at least to me. If you look closely at this beauty's abdomen you'll notice a very thin silk 'thread' coming out of an opening called a 'spinneret'. It's a very specialized organ for producing threads of silk from the secretion of her silk glands. The spider then weaves this silk into the creation of her web. So there you go!