We had an amazing time recharging our science batteries and exploring the island of Puerto Rico for a few days this August:
We spent much of the vacation out and about in Nature, meeting new (to us) birds and frogs and lizards, and some really cool plants.
via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mimosa_Pudica.gif
One surprising find was seeing our old friend, the golden orb weaver. We even saw one outside the Cueva Ventana that had succumb to a fungal infection of some sort:
Dead Golden orb-weaver. Check out the fungus growing out of the leg joints.
I showed this image to a mycologist friend and they thought the fungus may be from the genus Beauveria. In all of my years living in orb-weaver infested Gainesville FL, I have never seen a dead banana spider! Had to share!
Vincent Cannataro, Ph.D. 