A Western Lynx Spider video series: Rachna [AtSnailsPace]

[SanFran77]

Our live streams feature 'Rachna,' a tiny 5 mm Western Lynx Spider, named after 'Arachnida,' the biological class to which she belongs. The technical setup involves a Nikon SMZ-U stereo microscope with up to 75x magnification, complemented by a Sony A6000 mounted on the side-port and connected as a webcam to OBS on iMac.

Today, Rachna, who joined our family via the Christmas tree will be hunting for a booklouse that we found on our window sill. Observe Rachna repeatingly pump venom and digestive enzymes into the booklouse and learn why that is an important step in her digestive process.

Dive into the microscopic world and learn more about Rachna's fascinating behaviors.

https://youtu.be/_n_JwA1LYy0

The spider:

[SanFran77]

Today, Rachna will be hunting and eating a tiny fly that we found in our apartment. The fly and its fascinating details are being presented at 22:52 in several pictures.

https://youtu.be/GF49vZImyJM

The fly:

[Dennis]

SanFran77,

Good stuff.

[SanFran77]

Today, Rachna is digesting thrips that are growing on a Sweet Alyssum branach that we found on on of our hikes here in San Francisco.

On the technical side, we are briefly talking about aligning the focus between the webcam/OBS and the microscope's eyepieces so that both are "parfocal".

https://youtu.be/EfbQCSMJZ8g

[SanFran77]

Yesterday night, our Western Lynx Spider was preying on, capturing (live on video), and digesting a booklouse we found on our window sill here in San Francisco.

During the video, extra-oral digestion (EOD) is being discussed and several parts of a scientific publication by André Walter et. al. of the Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark, are being quoted: "Characterisation of protein families in spider digestive fluids and their role in extra-oral digestion" (BMC Genomics. 2017; 18: 600).

https://youtu.be/fYevRQsPxLk

[SanFran77]

Tonight, our Western Lynx Spider dealt with a significantly bigger foe: A moth!

https://www.youtube.com/live/ucWLvNh2upY

[SanFran77]

Tonight, Our Western Lynx Spider makes you see her digestion! The entire process of waiting for prey, capturing prey, crushing / puncturing, release of venom and digestive fluids, liquefaction, ingestion, and internal digestion will be explained step by step and summarized. You will see the venom and digestive enzymes flowing live on camera (at around 54:20)

https://www.youtube.com/live/MpDFzsgeGo ... ZhQEX0MqIx