The Writing Spider

Though often hidden, spiders make their homes within our own, and we find their delicate webs of intricate design nestled in ceiling corners and bushes that line our walkways. One particularly eye catching web is made up by the members of the genus Argiope - many of the species that comprise Argiope are brightly colored, and can be found across North America. The spiders belonging to Agriope form bright white lines on their webs called stabilimentum. They usually form an X in the middle the web, thus giving them the name the “writing spider” as their web designs resemble human handwriting. Unlike most spiders, Argiope do not eat their webs at night; instead, if a predator attacks, they rock their web back and forth presumably in an attempt to avoid being eaten.

Males are smaller than females, and form companion webs to the female before mating. After mating, female forms a large silken egg sack that she attaches to nearby plant material. The female then dies shortly after, and the juveniles emerge during the summer and become fully mature by fall. The average life span for Argiope is one year.

An example of Argiope that is common to San Diego is the Silver Argiope, which are distinguished by their banded silver legs and silver abdomen. They can be found in the Ecological reserve on campus, or in home gardens (particularly in prickly pear cactus, a favored plant of theirs).

Beach Hoppers

If one has taken a stroll down a California beach you would most likely have noticed large piles of kelp dotting the scenery. Lift up some of that debris and you will find many hopping organisms fleeing the scene. These creatures are known as Orchestoidea californiana, or more commonly beach hoppers. These little guys get their name from using their tail end to launch themselves into the air.

Beach hoppers measure about 1.1 inches long and have red/orange antennae. Beach hoppers burrow underground during the day and come out at night to search for food. Their diet is mainly comprised of seaweed washed up onto the beach.

In their comfy burrows (about 12 inches down) these creatures meet up to mate; the male deposits his jelly like sperm onto the female’s underside (very romantic). The female then forms a pouch that it keeps until the blue eggs hatch. The mating season lasts between June and November.

If you are interested in observing these quick moving crustaceans try looking under kelp piles near the Scripps pier at the Scripps coastal reserve. I believe you’ll go “hopping” mad for them!

Pacific Mole Crab

Walking along the slash and backwash of La Jolla Shores is an enjoyable activity alone or with someone special. Have you noticed hundreds of little critters moving under your feet while on this walk? These critters are called the Pacific Mole Crab, or the sand crab. Sand crabs make a living in the sandy, intertidal zone of the Pacific Coast. It is an unusual crab because it does not have claws or spines… and it moves backwards!

Sand crabs are found in large patches that are unevenly spaced along the shore. This may be a method of predator avoidance, or for mating advantages. They are found in these patches in very large numbers in every month, except for winter. In the winter, large, forceful waves carry mole crabs offshore with the sand into sandbars. When this sand resurfaces in the spring, so do the sand crabs. They move up and down the beach according to tides and always stay in the swash zone.

Males are smaller than females. Females carry eggs, which are yellow or orange, and can produce one clutch of up to 45,000 eggs per month. It spends most of its time buried in the sand, protruding its primary antennae into a V-shape, allowing water to flow freely between the antennae. This funnels oxygen in the ocean water towards and into the gills. The secondary antenna has cross crossing bristles, looking more or less like a feather, that catch dinoflagellates and other phytoplankton as it flows by. The sand crab then pulls the antennae into its mouth and scrapes off the nutrients.

Scoop up sand where the sand crabs are congregating and feel them burrowing down into your skin. To actually take a good look at one, you may need to free all the sand from your hand; these babies can completely bury themselves into the sand in 1 to 5 seconds, depending on age. Cool, right?

Natal Plum (Large Num Num)

Lining the walk ways of UCSD there are spiny bushes dotted with white star shaped flowers, these shrubs are called Carissa macrocarpe or Natal plums. The white flowers are sweet smelling and produce red meaty fruit that has white milky juice. These plants originally come from South Africa where the fruit is highly valued and consumed on a regular basis. The flavor of the fruit is reminiscent of cranberries though some varieties are sweet and taste like raspberries. The Fruit of the Natal plum is prepared in several different ways, it is eaten fresh as a whole fruit or sliced and added to salad for color and taste. Natal Fruit is also placed in water to add flavor or boiled and made into jams and jellies. Though the fruit of this plant is edible the rest of it is poisonous so one should not attempt to consume any other part of the shrub.

Carissa macrocarpe is a popular shrub in California because it is highly drought resistant and can live in poor soil conditions making it easy to care for. Also the shrubs are very handsome with deep green leaves that contrast beautifully with the snowy white flowers and bright red fruit.

So next time you are walking on campus stop and smell the flowers then snag a snack for the road.

The Strawberry Tree and its History

In the court yard nestled between Bonner and Mayer Hall there grows lovely little tree-shrubs known as Arbutus unedo. Arbutus unedo or strawberry tree, originally come from Ireland and other parts of Europe. The reason why the common name is strawberry tree is that the fruits are the color of strawberries and are texture as though it has seeds on the outside. The flowers that produce the fruit are either white or light pink. The little fruits are edible but not considered particularly tasty because they are bitter and have a mealy texture. The fruit's taste is where it got its species name unedo, which comes from a Latin word meaning "I eat one", because once you eat one you would not want another, though in some countries the fruits are made into preserves and jams. Strawberry trees grow well in a wide variety of soils and are drought-resistant, allowing them to prosper in coastal California. Due to its attractive appearance and easy cultivation, it is often used in landscaping.

The strawberry tree has several legends attached to its usage. In Rome, the Arbutus was an attribute of Cardea, sister of Phoebus, who used her rod of a strawberry tree branch to drive away witches and protect children who were ill or bewitched. Strawberry trees were also used during a festival honoring the pastoral goddess Pallas. Another custom the Romans had involving Arbutus unedo was to place branches of the plant on coffins.

So if you happen to walk by a strawberry tree and feel a bit hungry, go ahead pick yourself a berry, though you most likely will only want one.

Fungus on my mind-- The Yellow Stainer

Agaricus xanthodermus is a common mushroom in California that one can often find in their backyard or on the side of the road. On campus these white lovelies can be found under the pine trees in the court yard nestled between Muir Biology building and Ledden Hall. Agricus is an important genus of mushroom; I am sure most people in America have eaten at least one—unless you were a very stubborn child—because the common supermarket mushroom comes from this genus. A. xanthodermus commonly known as Yellow Stainer is a poisonous variety of mushroom that if eaten will leave you next to a toilet all weekend. How does one identify an Agricus let alone a yellow stainer you ask?

First, turn the mushroom over. If it is an Agricus, the gills will be a rosy clay color when young, eventually turning into a brown color when older. Next disconnect the stem from the cap to see if the gills are free from the stem—if so, continue on.

To find the spore colors take the fresh cap of the mushroom and place it on a white piece of paper and let sit so that the spores can settle onto the paper. If the spores are a chocolate brown you are most likely in possession of an Agricus!

Agricus houses many species of both poisonous and edible qualities, yet each one has a special combination of features that give the key to its identity. For the yellow stainer, when the stalk is crushed it gives off an unpleasant smell of antiseptic (like phenol) and when the flesh of the mushroom is bruised it turns yellow. Yet the most defining feature is that when the tip of the stalk is cut it is a very bright yellow, much more so then any other part of the body of the mushroom and more so then any other Agricus.

The Yellow Stainer when cooked smells and tastes horrible and if eaten gives you gastrointestinal distress—overall not a very nice mushroom, yet fun to find. Happy hunting!