A Halloween Treat - By Night

In order to make a more positive ID of this barn spider, I went back out that night to see what she was up to. As it turned out, she had caught herself (what appeared to be) a moth for dinner. To be perfectly honest, I guessed on the focusing. All I had for light was the moon, my flash, and my lantern. If I'd turned on the floodlight nearby she probably would have fled. So I put my camera with the 800 mm lens on a tripod and focused it until the black blob looked as much like a spider as possible. Very professional, I know, but it was the only way under the circumstances. I usually didn't know if the picture was in focus until the flash lit up the scene. Fortunately I guessed right several times and got some wonderful shots.

If this isn't Neoscona crucifera, then it must be Araneus cavaticus, but the latter is more common in the Northeast, while the former is common as far south as Florida. I still believe it's N. crucifera, though the cross is not quite as prominent in this specimen.

I know it doesn't look much like a moth anymore, but I believe it did fly once.

There are the moth's wings! And, incidentally, the spider's eyes.

Only 4 eyes are visible here.

Now you can see 6 of the eyes. The last two are hidden, one of each side of the spider's cephalothorax.

Back to 4.

A good view of the chelicerae biting into the moth.

You can see the moth's antennae and/or legs.

At the top of the moth's body, its two eyes.

In this shot I think you can see the eye on the left side of the spider's cephalothorax, the one that was hidden before. However, the shine could be deceptive; it may be part of the moth's body.