Post your Spiders

[Seriche]

Sorry all,
New to this. Here is a photo I got of this ferocious beast in my vege garden.
Tamron 90mm macro.
Greg

You do know they get bigger.....right?

Welcome from another newcomer. This is a great place to learn as people here are very generous with their help and advice, as you've already discovered

Looking forward to seeing more of your spider shots, and your fungi too (love those ).

Seri

[Seriche]

This isn't such a great shot, but I was very excited about it as I finally caught a spider twanging! They put some glue on a tieline and twang it just like a guitar player. This distributes the glue in exactly equidistant droplets. Who would have thought that spiders knew about physics



Seri

[Geoff F]

Who would have thought that spiders knew about physics

Just look at the design of an average web and the methods of construction. They will run along the ground or swing in the wind to create the basic 'scaffolding threads' then attach the prey catching threads. Some species even use downward hanging threads to support horizontal webs.

So which came first; spiders or engineers?

I suspect that this spider is Enoplognatha ovata and the sticky threads are actually designed to have weak links so that the lines, plus prey, collapse inwards towards the spider.

[Seriche]

Who would have thought that spiders knew about physics

Just look at the design of an average web and the methods of construction. They will run along the ground or swing in the wind to create the basic 'scaffolding threads' then attach the prey catching threads. Some species even use downward hanging threads to support horizontal webs.

They're certainly amazing. Since they make traps they could be called 'tool-makers', but I've never heard them referred to as such. And none of it learned, of course. If they can't run along the ground they'll just cast a thread into the air and let it float until it attaches to something solid, which is how some spiders' webs can span rivers (bet you know that already though ).

So which came first; spiders or engineers?

You've made me wonder just how much engineers have learned from spiders. One calls such borrowing from nature 'bioprospecting'.

I suspect that this spider is Enoplognatha ovata...

I've looked it up and I agree. Thank you so much for the ID I have the Roberts book, but if you know of a better field guide to British spiders do let me know.

...and the sticky threads are actually designed to have weak links so that the lines, plus prey, collapse inwards towards the spider.

I didn't know that. A fascinating fact. You set my bedtime reading last night as I looked for more info in a book I'd just bought: ('Built by Animals - The natural history of animal architecture' by Mike Hansell). So many different kinds of webs out there, yet most people only notice the orb variety. So much to learn from looking deeper and asking 'why?'

Seri

[Dons]

hi everyone, this is my picture of spider maybe it's not so good, hope you all enjoy it.. thank you...

six legs spider

[Dons]

enjoying my lunch..

[Wendy Stanford]

This isn't such a great shot, but I was very excited about it as I finally caught a spider twanging! They put some glue on a tieline and twang it just like a guitar player. This distributes the glue in exactly equidistant droplets. Who would have thought that spiders knew about physics

Seri, what a lovely looking spider, the head and eyes are clear with good DOF, like the colours of the body, I haven't seen anything like this one before.
Perhaps some of the OOF purple at the top could be cropped, would bring the spider
up in the image more

[ktuli]

This guy carried his dinner around and let me get a whole series of shots....



- Bill

[Seriche]

enjoying my lunch..

Donny, I'd recognise your work anywhere by now Your spider doesn't seem to be at all disadvantaged by the loss of two legs. It was also a very creative move to make the web almost disappear. Great shots!

Seri

[Seriche]

This isn't such a great shot, but I was very excited about it as I finally caught a spider twanging! They put some glue on a tieline and twang it just like a guitar player. This distributes the glue in exactly equidistant droplets. Who would have thought that spiders knew about physics

Seri, what a lovely looking spider, the head and eyes are clear with good DOF, like the colours of the body, I haven't seen anything like this one before.
Perhaps some of the OOF purple at the top could be cropped, would bring the spider
up in the image more

Wendy, I'm very glad you like it as it's one of the spiders in my garden that I like the most. It holds some lovely poses. It was a very breezy and sun-in-sun-out kind of day so I was lucky to get what I did. I hope to catch him under a better light one day to give you a clearer view of him

Thank you so much for the advice about the crop. I agonise about where to crop sometimes. I'll change him tomorrow as it's almost my bedtime.

Seri

[Seriche]

This guy carried his dinner around and let me get a whole series of shots....



- Bill

Hi Bill, that's a fine shot of a jumping spider you have there. And he was carrying his dinner around with him? My jumping spiders are much more lazy - I've only ever seen them eating on the spot - picnic-wise. Maybe he didn't want you to watch him eating

What with you and Donny posting 'spider and prey' shots you've given me the courage to post two from the past which aren't that great technically, but...

Seri (racing to find her spider shots against the setting sun - nicely Gothic )

[ktuli]

Hi Bill, that's a fine shot of a jumping spider you have there. And he was carrying his dinner around with him? My jumping spiders are much more lazy - I've only ever seen them eating on the spot - picnic-wise. Maybe he didn't want you to watch him eating

Seri,

Yeah - I spent about 20 minutes with this little guy. I found him on the leaf of one of the plants in our front yard, and with permission from our gardener (my wife), I pinched off the leaf and relocated it to the floor of our porch. There I was able to take photos without tromping the other plants trying to get in position. After a little bit, he left the leaf and started wandering around (admittedly with a little direction from me to keep him from wandering off too quickly). The whole time, he was continuing to eat his meal, and I watched the bug's body shrivel in size and girth. From my estimates, he was about 8mm in size.

I have to admit that without some of the tips I've gained from folks here, I would have never been able to capture this shot. I took about 20 frames and kept 17 of them - something I am quite proud of.

- Bill

[Seriche]

These are just for fun (and I had lots of that PP with the last )

I wish I had the skills to capture a moment like this. The bee was playing 'Superman' as he fought his way free. Through most of the year I watch bees easily disentangle themselves from webs. It's only at the end of the year that they seem to succumb. They fly straight through some orb webs, just leaving a hole encircled with pollen.

I wonder if bees sting spiders? I believe they can withdraw their stings from exoskeletons – it's hasty retreats from mammalian skin they have problems with. Answers on a postcard please




I'm really soft about invertebrates but not sentimental, and I usually let nature take its course, however, one time I accidentally scared a cricket into a spider's web and noticed that the spider was wrapping it up really quickly without biting it first. So I rescued it and ended up spending half an hour in the grass with a small pair of tweezers to hold the web strands while I gently disentangled the wee beastie.

In the end there was just one long thread attached to one of his legs and he started hopping around with me holding on to the other end, but finally I got him free and he sat on the nearest rock and started chirping away

This one was not so lucky, but I thought it had a kind of beauty all the same.



Seri

[ktuli]

Another shot of that jumping spider (go here for another with some dramatic lightning) showing the metallic green color that showed in its body. I thought this color was fantastic and was glad when it showed up in a couple of the images.



Enjoy.

- Bill

[Dons]

Donny, I'd recognise your work anywhere by now Your spider doesn't seem to be at all disadvantaged by the loss of two legs. It was also a very creative move to make the web almost disappear. Great shots!

Seri

Thanx Seri, I guess he lost his 2 legs on one of his battle to survive...

[Seriche]

Another shot of that jumping spider (go here for another with some dramatic lightning) showing the metallic green color that showed in its body. I thought this color was fantastic and was glad when it showed up in a couple of the images.



Enjoy.

- Bill

Congratulations on getting such a good shot of this jumping spider Apart from his very small size you had to overcome the problems of shiny exoskeletons on both creatures. You've captured that green sheen beautifully.

We have a species here that looks as if it's covered with rainbow dots on black which shimmer in and out of existence according to the direction of the the light, and I've never managed to take one single good photo of him, so I understand the challenge

I know that spiders will go largely where they will, but the busy background is the only thing I'd change. Can that be done in PP? I think it would bring the beauty of that spider out even more

I think it's important to be able to produce good sharp images with everything in focus if that's what's right for any particular image, but I like to see people thinking outside the box and trying out new things with close-ups and macro

I like your dramatic lighting (on the other thread) for instance. I love Wendy's caterpillars and Donny's cricket especially because of the way that the sharp parts are accentuated by the OOF bits. For myself, I've been experimenting with action macro, black and white, high and low key images, silhouettes, abstracts, and extreme manipulation in PP. I don't yet have the basic skills to make it work as well as I'd like, but I'm working hard to get there, and it's really good to see others here being creative with their subjects

Seri

[Seriche]

Thanx Seri, I guess he lost his 2 legs on one of his battle to survive...

They always seem to be losing legs, and I sometimes wonder just how few they can get by on, but I suppose that's down to the species and just what they need their legs for. I wonder if hunting spiders can get by on fewer legs than web builders? (I rather hope that no research has ever been done on that ).

Seri

[ktuli]

They always seem to be losing legs, and I sometimes wonder just how few they can get by on, but I suppose that's down to the species and just what they need their legs for. I wonder if hunting spiders can get by on fewer legs than web builders? (I rather hope that no research has ever been done on that ).

Actually - research has been done on it. I unfortunately can't find the link now, but I remember seeing something about spiders and missing limbs. The theory was that since many spiders tangle with prey much larger than themselves, they've actually evolved the 8 limbs as an insurance policy against losing one. In the study, they found that over 30% of spiders captured had fewer than 8 limbs. And I think it was something like 7-8% had lost 2 or more legs. The study also found that spiders with 7 legs faired just as well at building webs, capturing prey, and surviving as spiders with all 8. Subsequently, spiders with 6 legs did ok, but not as well as those with 7 legs. Once you got down into 5 or fewer legs is when the spiders really started to have difficulty.

It was a very interesting article. I wish I could find it.

- Bill

[Seriche]

Actually - research has been done on it. I unfortunately can't find the link now, but I remember seeing something about spiders and missing limbs. The theory was that since many spiders tangle with prey much larger than themselves, they've actually evolved the 8 limbs as an insurance policy against losing one. In the study, they found that over 30% of spiders captured had fewer than 8 limbs. And I think it was something like 7-8% had lost 2 or more legs. The study also found that spiders with 7 legs faired just as well at building webs, capturing prey, and surviving as spiders with all 8. Subsequently, spiders with 6 legs did ok, but not as well as those with 7 legs. Once you got down into 5 or fewer legs is when the spiders really started to have difficulty.

It was a very interesting article. I wish I could find it.

- Bill

Is it this one, Bill?

Leg autotomy in a spider has minimal costs in competitive ability and development

SCOTT A. JOHNSON* & ELIZABETH M. JAKOB

people.umass.edu/ejakob/publications/JohnsonJakob1999.pdf

I think it must be very much like it even if not the same one. It's utterly fascinating, and I've only read the first page so far.

Thanks so much for letting me know that research had been done on it

Seri

[Wendy Stanford]

Another shot of that jumping spider (go here for another with some dramatic lightning) showing the metallic green color that showed in its body. I thought this color was fantastic and was glad when it showed up in a couple of the images.



Enjoy.

- Bill

Bill, what at great find, composition is great, the eyes and head are nicely in focus, the detail on the bug being devoured is amazing