Mecynogea lemniscata with dome web

Three days ago I was delighted at my first Mecynogea lemniscata sighting in years. The next day I returned, and as I scrutinized the web, I began to comprehend its elaborate structure. The strands of the dome seemed to form a regular grid, rather than the variably-sized trapezoids of an orb web.

Just a few hours later, on the other side of town, I found another specimen of the same species. This one had a much larger web, and had built it in a spot that was ideal for viewing, so you can imagine how thrilled I was.

This was my first good, close look at a Mecynogea lemniscata web. Now that I've had the opportunity to scrutinize its structure, I understand what I didn't before: that it's too intricate for any single photograph or illustration to capture. I looked through all the images for the species on BugGuide, and I found only three shots showing a significant portion of a web: one showing a dome shimmering in the sunlight; one showing the strand of egg sacs hanging over a dome; and one showing a magnificent triple-decker stack of domes. Not one of them even begins to convey the intricacy of the web I saw.

The illustration below comes from Harriet Exline's 1948 research study "Morphology, habits, and systematic position of Allepeira lemniscata (Walckenaer)". It's an excellent diagram, but now that I've gotten a good look at a web up close, I see that it's only a diagram. The density and delicacy of the strands is of another order of magnitude than what the diagram shows, because you couldn't pack all those lines into one diagram.

The web of Mecynogea lemniscata is a wonder of micro-engineering, and in order to grasp the intricacy of its structure, you need to let your eye range over it. I would need expensive video equipment to even approach the experience I had with my nose in that web. In lieu of that, here is a selection of crops from the images I took at the time. Hopefully they will give you a sense of the experience, and encourage you to seek out one of these marvels for yourself.

I added the red dots to make the dome profile more visible.

Note the detail of the dome web to the right of center.

Note the deformation in the grid from the anchor line.

Note the profusion of delicate strands pulling up on the orb web to shape it into a dome.

More detail on the strands pulling up on the orb web to shape it into a dome.

More detail on the strands pulling up on the orb web to shape it into a dome.

Note how the lower anchor lines deform the orb into a smooth curve.

Note how the lower anchor lines deform the orb into a smooth curve.

Note how the lower anchor lines deform the orb into a smooth curve.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the grid and an anchor line deforming its shape.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.

Closeup of the dome and its architect.