Curious: spider strolling across Lower Twin Lake this morning
https://youtu.be/__uC-ISnypw
Curiouser: salamander (?) lying/frozen on Lower Twin Lake this morning (out 10-15 feet from shore on snow/ice) - is it a salamander? Shouldn't it be hibernating? How did it get there? Why haven't the ravens (or whatever) eaten it?
salamander? by walrus walrus, on Flickr
Curious and curiouser
- adamschneider
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Re: Curious and curiouser
I frequently see spiders on snowfields, although it's usually in the summer. Once on the way up to Barrett Spur, we found a spider in almost every little crater that was made by a small dark rock soaking up the sun and melting the snow. It's like they were lying in foxholes waiting to ambush their prey. But how much prey do they find on snowfields??
- Waffle Stomper
- Posts: 3707
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Re: Curious and curiouser
Looks like a Rough Skinned Newt. Something tells me it is not napping. A quick online search suggests they seek out piles of leaves, and other organic materials to overwinter. Being in the snow doesn't look to good for this little fellow. They secrete a toxin from their skin, which might be why nobody had nibbled on it, especially if they have had a past experience with them.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John Muir
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Re: Curious and curiouser
Concerning the spiders, it got me thinking about skiing on a central Oregon glacier in July and coming across tons of little black worms in the snow. I had completely forgotten to look them up until the picture of the spider on the snow reminded me.
If the spiders had a taste for them there'd be a never-ending food supply. They were everywhere up high. I almost (almost) felt bad skiing...
https://www.star2.com/living/science-te ... lp-humans/
If the spiders had a taste for them there'd be a never-ending food supply. They were everywhere up high. I almost (almost) felt bad skiing...
https://www.star2.com/living/science-te ... lp-humans/
Re: Curious and curiouser
Many small species of spiders 'fly' without wings, by using a longish strand of their silk to catch the wind. They have no control over where the wind deposits them. This might explain some of the spiders found on snowfields.