We found a spider on our front porch yesterday. A huge spider. A hairy spider. I almost killed it. And then I remembered the Discovery Scope. I asked my 11 year-old if he would help me catch it and he refused. He kills them for me, but catching them alive for me is apparently where he draws the line. I had to figure out how to get it into the little plastic viewing box that came with my scope all by myself.
First I knocked it off the wall. Then I chased it around with a stick, then I dropped the box on top of it once it was on our rug. The rug has indentations in it, and I used that to my advantage. I slid the lid under the box and closed it tight. Spider caught!
This spider is dark brown with very hair legs and body. The hairs appear to be a lighter color. It has six black half moons on its abdomen, and they appear to be indented. It’s legs have brown and yellow segments.
I got some good shots with my iPhone through the Discovery Scope, but it was moving so fast I never could get it’s back. The kids and their friends had fun examining it. I looked on the Berkely website at spiders commonly seen in California and I think it is this one:
Badumnas longinqua
Family DesidaeThis invasive spider is native to Australia and New Zealand. The web is a mesh, often with a distinct lattice pattern, commonly seen on fenceposts, streetsigns, and sideview mirrors.
Thanks for sharing your spider story and pictures 🙂 It’s interesting to see this — what level of magnification do you have with your Discovery Scope?
Hi Diane, The answer and much more can be found in this post: https://encouragingmomsathome.com/2012/06/product-review-discovery-scope/