juliabohemian's Favourites

I haven't the foggiest idea what this is. UV-fluorescent organism, or non-organism, or leavings of an organism...?... found on the W-facing side of a cinder block wall, noticed due to high fluorescence, while I was using a UV flashlight to hunt lichens. Thing is attached to the mortar between bricks. I would remove the thing to dissect and investigate further, but I'm not sure this isn't some kind of extraterrestrial life that will kill me if I handle it too much (99% joking there). What the hell is this thing? Texture rather hard, and crispy, not fleshy. Observed following a decent amount of precipitation on the same day.

Photos # 1-3 taken under UV light in near total darkness otherwise, and photos # 4-5 taken under illumination with a white LED lamp. Coin used for scale is a US quarter dollar (¢25 piece), 24.26 mm, 0.955 inch in diameter. Each line on the edge of the coin is approximately 0.64 mm apart.

Update (29 Dec 2022): Inspected the putative life-form further, and removed the donut-shaped structure from the large mass, and the larger mass from the wall. The donut-shaped structure was relatively easy to separate, as was the larger mass from the wall. Face, and backside fluorescent under UV, as well as the inside of the larger mass (not pictured under UV here). The donut-shaped structure was hardened, and fragile, and shattered into pieces when I accidentally dropped it on a tile floor.

Observed this Spider feeding on what looks to be a Western Honey Bee.

"Females of the green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans (Hentz), generally match their background when they are gravid. In the laboratory, P. viridans can change components of its colour to match green, purple, yellow and white backgrounds. This ability should offer a selective advantage against visual predators.

Coloration and pattern can vary on the abdomen, often due to habitat or the age (instar) of the spider, but is typically a bright green color (can be reddish-pink or purple in some individuals). Most specimens also have pairs of white and/or burgundy diagonal lines down the center of the abdomen, which point forward towards the 'head' of the spider.
May actively stalk its prey, running and jumping from branch to branch with ease, which is how it earned the nickname lynx spider.
Spiders are apparently capable of changing their body color to adapt to their environment (ranges from various shades of green, brown, and reddish-purple or pink).”

More information at> https://spiderid.com/spider/oxyopidae/peucetia/viridans/