Gasteracantha Cancriformis leaves after five weeks

I had a new resident in my backyard: a gasteracantha cancriformis. It made a rather large web that I had to duck beneath while moving my lawn mower to and from the front lawn. I let it be because there are enough bugs in my backyard. Especially mosquitoes. After a strong downpour early this Tuesday morning, it disappeared.

I first noticed it about a week before I took the first pictures. It lasted five weeks in the same spot. I don’t think I’ve noticed a spider stay in the same place for that long before, but I can’t say I was paying close attention.

Another gasteracantha cancriformis showed up just outside my bathroom windows a few days before the downpour. That spider was also displaced.

The backside of a gasteracantha cancriformis in my backyard.

Amphibians like it here

A small pond with a decorative bridge over it.

I have a little artificial pond in my backyard that is frequented by at least three, maybe four, toads. When I go outside at night, I often hear the splash they make when jumping back into the pond. Occasionally, they’ll just sit near the pond in spite of my sudden appearance.

About three weeks ago, I saw that a toad was sitting the pond while I was taking pictures of my growing bananas (more about that in a future post).

Here is a closer view of the toad:

There were two toads present, not including the stone shaped like a toad: