Mirror spider

Wow! Ick. Oooh. Whaaaaaaat. No. No. NOPE. That pretty much summarizes my reactions while looking at these incredible macro shots of spiders photographed by Nicky Bay who lives and works in Singapore. The boundless biodiversity found on the country’s several islands includes a vast array of insects and arachnids, many of which Bay has painstakingly documented up close with his macro photography and published on his blog and Flickr account. More

God’s amazing creation is full of never-ending surprises

This isn't a stained-glass sculpture or piece of delicate jewelry – it's a real live spider. These spiders, called mirror or sequined spiders, are all probably members of several different species of the thwaitesia genus, which features spiders with reflective silvery patches on their abdomen.

Go ahead, yell 'FAKE' at your computer screen. Make our day.

Pretty mirror spider's abdomen has little silver platelets. Taken at night in Singapore forest. Quote form en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theridii… Therid... Mirror spider (Twaitesia sp.)

For several years, I have been observing the odd behavior of the Mirror Spider (Thwaitesia sp.) where the "silver-plates" on the abdomen seem to shrink when the spider is agitated (or perhaps threatened), revealing the actual abdomen. At rest, the silver plates expand and the spaces between the plates close up to become an almost

Check out our Spotting of the Day, a Black-spotted Thwaitesia from Australia! Spiders in the genus Thwaitesia are commonly called “mirror spiders” or “sequined spiders", due to the shimmery spots on their abdomen. These are thought to make the spiders harder to see for predators due to light scattering.

Mirror Spider

The mirror plates on the spider can expand and contract. Taken at night in Singapore forest. Content quoted from www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/09… ... Mirror comb-footed spider (Thwaitesia sp.)