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Arachnids of Biidaasige Park
Toronto’s newest park (🎁), it is widely agreed, is a jewel on the waterfront and a rare example of the city doing something ambitious. The area, once a flood-prone industrial wasteland, has been turned into a lush wetland the Don River meanders through on its way to the lake. There are plenty of attractions and amenities for humans too: self-cleaning washrooms, a zipline, giant animal-shaped climbing structures, and a hilly Cheltenham Badlands-inspired playground with an intriguing variety of water pumps and locks. “A triumph,” says Designlines Magazine. “My six year old cried when we had to leave,” commented some random Redditor.
Since the rehabilitation began, wildlife has eagerly returned to the park, flourishing amid native plants, big old dead trees, and rocky beaches. Like, unironically, nature is healing (🎁). There are plenty of photos and sightings of wildflowers, birds, fish, mink and beavers, etc. But I know you all are wondering: what about _spiders_? I had not spent much time in the park, but in mid-August, after seeing the swathes of prime _Pardosa lapidicina_ habitat while cycling through on the way to Tommy Thompson Park, I had to check it out.
Just a sampling of arachnids:
Likely the willow bead gall mite (_Aculops tetanothrix_). An opilionid that seems to have lost a few legs (don’t worry, they can spare a few).
There’s a long-jawed orbweaver (_Tetragnatha_) somewhere on this aphid-infested goldenrod. There it is!
A less camouflaged (but still hard to spot if you’re not looking for it) _Tetragnatha_.
In the low vegetation by the walking paths, there were many sheet-web weavers (family Linyphiidae). Small mesh-web weavers (family Dictynidae) covered flowers with their irregular webs of fuzzy silk.
But let’s get to what I came for: _Pardosa_!
This cobble beach by the Don is perfect thin-legged wolf spider (_Pardosa_) habitat.
_Pardosa_ love sunning themselves and these sculptures (frogs?) were great territory.
One _Pardosa_ I managed to briefly corner on the sculpture. This one was down a few legs but still enjoying the golden-hour sun.
Down by the edge of the water, _Pardosa_ sunned themselves on rocks… …and driftwood.
Light enough to run over water, they have no qualms about being right next to the river.
This larger _Pardosa_ had a great view of the Don on this washed-up log. Not very good close-up (I didn’t want to risk scaring her off.)
Of the insects I saw, dragonflies and damselflies were especially abundant. I couldn’t get photos of them in flight, but here are just a few resting ones I got pictures of.
This orange damselfly went unnoticed by other parkgoers. Many damselflies were mating. This damselfly was a gorgeous shade of blue. This one was really striking! Managed to get quite close to this one. It’s hard to see, but there is a very large blue dragonfly sitting on top of the rock.
The flowers attracted a huge range of insects.
Monarch butterflies were everywhere, feeding on flowers. A close-up. This pink milkweed attracted a large wasp (_Sphex_?), a bumblebee(?), and a honeybee. I think this is a _Bembix_ sand wasp, and I know the filename says “boneset” but now I think it’s Joe-Pye weed or similar.
One of my favourite finds was this well-camouflaged jagged ambush bug (_Phymata_).
I like this view because it seems to encapsulate Toronto’s past (the elevated Gardiner Expressway, relic of a time when the car was king); its present (skyscrapers and condos), and perhaps its future (the lazy green river with a duck paddling in it).
Where the Don enters the park, looking northward.
I also checked out the more manicured western part of Biidaasige that had just opened, and took a jaunt to the “Don Greenway Trail Loop” in the southwestern corner of the park. By then the sun was setting and I was very tired, so I headed home.
Looking out from the then-just-opened western bit of the park. Notice the little islands offshore.
An island formed out of a little pond connected to the Ship Channel, at the southwestern corner of the park. There are bird habitats on poles.
And just think, this all could have been a casino/ferris wheel/monorail/.
