I observed this "family" in the wild beginning on 10 June 2010 on a Prickly pear cactus occupied by the male. By 15 July he had built a silk nest which was later occupied by the female around the 25th of July or perhaps even a few days earlier. I observed it as often as I could until I discovered the female missing after a heavy thunderstorm and the nest was being attacked by red ants. At that point, I removed it from the wild and placed it at the top of my backyard chainlink fence so I could watch it closely for intruders. On 7 August 2010, approximately 25-30 1st instars appeared. They may, or may not, hang around but have been known to stay around the nest as long as three weeks.
Glochids are tiny, finely barbed hair-like spines found on the areolesof some cactiand other plants. Cactus glochids easily detach from the plant and become lodged in the skin, causing irritation upon contact. The tufts of glochids may cover some cactus species, each tuft containing hundreds of glochids; this may be in addition to, or instead of, the larger, more typical cactus spines, which do not detach.
Richard Clayderman: Fur Elise Bagatelle in A Minor (4:14)
