The Mandala

The Mandala Spider

As I scoured my mandala for anything interesting, I noticed the bright reflection of the sun shining on a spider web. The center of the web was about as big as my hand, and the supporting strings were woven around two small trees and an even smaller felled branch. The spider lay motionless at the center, hanging upside down. The threads danced around in the breeze, taking the spider along with it, yet it still did not move. Perhaps the reason behind the shining string is that the sunlight reflects around the transparent, thin thread and then reflects back out. The spider was small, around the same size as my index fingernail. It's a nice green color, the same as the leaves around it, with small black dots over it's body. The green is bright, but not too overwhelming on the eyes. The underside of the abdomen is black, with a small orange area in the center. I deduced that the spider must be a Venusta Orchard Spider, based on it's appearance and behavior. It lies motionless in the center of the web, most likely waiting for an unsuspecting insect to wander into the web. The spider has built it's web towards the edge of a circular clearing about 10 feet in diameter. I concluded that the reason it has built the web in this area is that insects will most likely fly through the clearing as opposed to crowded areas, and then run into the web, where it could be entrapped and eaten. The whole time I was there, the spider did not move. I will check back on it in a day or two, as well as look for other observable fauna and flora.