Birth announcements in the esperanza!

Today's the day! The green lynx (Peucetia viridans) on the esperanza is a mom! She's kept a faithful vigil, and now she'll likely die in the next few days or weeks. See the hole in the top right quarter of the eggsac? That's where the spiderlings are emerging...

Click on the photo for a better look!
You can also see four of the mom's eight eyes.

Above, a tiny orange child is right beneath her right legs (our right, not hers). Its abdomen comes fat with reserves so it can survive its first several days without food. Later it'll balloon away (send out a silken thread and float away on the breeze), scramble away or get eaten by a bigger spider or insect. In the photo below, an orange spiderling can barely be seen in the eggsac hole.

Later in the afternoon, more spiderlings are emerging!