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nature
© All Rights Reserved
southern Alberta
S of Calgary
near Canada-US border
Calgary to Waterton 264 km
159 miles
driving time roughly 3 hrs
FZ200#4
© Anne Elliott 2017
24 June 2017
Veiny Meadow-rue
Marbled Cobweb Spider
Enoplognatha marmorata
Anne Elliott
annkelliott
FZ200
flora
flower
flowers
plant
outdoor
spider
summer
forest
trail
Canada
Alberta
Cameron Lake
Waterton Lakes National Park
Family Theridiidae


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Marbled Cobweb Spider / Enoplognatha marmorataon on Veiny Meadow-rue

Marbled Cobweb Spider / Enoplognatha marmorataon on Veiny Meadow-rue
I'm not sure if this very small 'insect' was a spider. I did hear one of my group mention the words: "It looks like a tick". However, I have never seen a tick, thank goodness, so I don't know if she was right or not. I Googled "tick" last night and did see some insect photos that looked very much like mine - a similar shape, but a different pattern. This was seen along the forest trail at Cameron Lake.

To have the chance to visit Waterton Lakes National Park three days ago, on 24 June 2017, was such an absolute treat! To visit Waterton for just one day does make for a very long day, though - takes about 3 hours to drive each way, for a start.

We had two main stopping places in the park - the lookout at Maskinonge Lake and a longer stop at Cameron Lake. The views from both places are spectacular. Luckily, we had beautiful weather all day.

Actually, we weren't too sure if the road going through the mountains to Cameron Lake was going to be open. It was due to reopen the day before out trip and, fortunately, the gate was open. Once at Cameron Lake, we found an empty picnic table right near the beach, and ate our picnic lunch. We were able to walk along the forest trail that followed the shoreline on the right edge of the lake. At a certain point, one has to turn around and go back along the same trail. Cameron Lake is one of my favourite places in the park, with a beautiful view of the lake and a pleasant, flat walk through the forest. There didn't seem to be a lot of forest wildflower species in bloom - maybe we were just a bit too early for them. However, the huge, creamy white flowers of Bear Grass growing along the edge of the road up to the lake had everyone in absolute awe. The road is only narrow and our bus was huge, so on the drive there, all we could do was gasp in amazement, over and over again, with no chance for taking photos. We asked our excellent driver if there was any chance he would be willing and able to stop at one of the very small pull-offs at the edge of the road on the return drive - and he did! He was expecting maybe five or six people would get off, but I think almost everyone wanted to get a close look at these amazing plants. Even the driver himself got out to look and take photos. He had apparently never been to Waterton before and had never seen Bear Grass. We noticed tiny Crab Spiders on two of the flowers; one was lying in wait and the other had caught an insect. These spiders don't construct webs, but camouflage themselves by changing their colour to that of the flower they are hiding in, and then they wait. We also saw several stems of Striped Coralroot orchid in the ditch by some of the Bear Grass.

After spending a couple of hours at Cameron Lake, the driver took us back into town, as some people had said they wanted to eat there before the long drive back to Calgary. Others, including myself, would have preferred to have spent the time somewhere else, seeing nature and taking photos. However, we were able to walk to the lake's edge, from where we were able to take a few scenic photos - something I had been hoping for. On our way back to the bus, some of us called in at a very popular ice cream shop - we all agreed it was the best, tastiest ice cream we had ever had! A huge, single scoop of wild cherry in a waffle cone - what more could one want?

Penny, you did a great job of organizing this wonderful trip for us all! I know a lot of work goes into setting up an outing like this, and we all appreciate the time and effort you put into planning this. Such a perfect destination for this year's annual bus trip! Pam, thanks for your company on this long drive - helped make it far more enjoyable!

Comments
 Anne Elliott
Anne Elliott club
From Flickr:
Bárbol 18h
It's undoubtely a spider, ticks are completely different in shape. However, I don't know enough the american spiders for give an ID, even to family level - although I suspect on Araneidae or Theridiidae..

speech path girl PRO 10h
I'm with Bárbol on this one, definitely a spider. His guess on the family is on track, too -- after some searching on BugGuide.net, it looks like a Marbled Cobweb Spider, Enoplognatha marmorata, in the family Theridiidae.
6 years ago.

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