Cute mini beast

 I haven't posted any photos lately despite having had a couple of days out. I haven't really got round to sorting through the pictures I took but hopefully I will soon get some time  to process them and then share the best ones.

Today however I finally got to do something I have been planning to do for ages but due to Covid restrictions I have not had the opportunity to do and that is go and do a photo shoot of some of my daughter-in-law's collection of spiders. She has 27 tarantulas if you can believe that, 27!!!

Now I do not like spiders, at all, and I am grateful that in my house it is not me who has to remove them when they become a nuisance (which is whenever they appear). I once did a presentation about spiders to a youth group, thinking that if I understood more about spiders then I wouldn't be so afraid of them, guess what, it didn't work. The more I knew the  more I realised it made sense to be afraid...

Despite that I do find them fascinating and extremely photogenic and the opportunity to get up close and take some macro photos of a few of the species in the collection was something I didn't want to pass up. There were some species that I definitely did not want to get close to because they are very fast and extremely poisonous but the ones that I will share with you were a little more easy going. I even surprised myself by moving the containers to get closer, without thinking about just how close my hand came to the venomous beasts. 

Anyway I have decided to share some of the cutest pictures today. Meet Pebbles and Jasper. These are two Phiddipus regius or Regal Jumping Spiders. They are just too cute with their whiskers and 8 shiny black eyes. 

They are also ridiculously small, so these images are cropped to get up really close. Pebbles is the largest of the two and I have included the full image of Jasper with his owners hand in the shot to give you a true sense of just how small he is.

I have some more shots of Pebbles to share but I will save them for another day and before I get back to them I will share some images of some of the larger species so come back for more if you dare.

Garden Life

I don't have much of a garden and I can take no credit for anything that grows in it but that doesn't stop me enjoying it in any way.

The front garden is particularly small and features a number of hardy fuchsias that keep flowering year after year and a massive lavender plant that waves about in the wind and provides a feast for hundreds (if not thousands) of bees throughout the summer.

The other day I spotted this unusual wasp flying among the plants. There was another similar to this one that was flying around with a small fly clasped between its front legs. Sadly that one didn't settle anywhere long enough for me to get a clear shot but I am fairly happy with this one. I believe that it is a Digger Wasp and if you follow this link you can see a really good photo of one holding a fly just as I observed ( click here) 

The spider in the second image had spun its web between two plants and was patiently waiting for a meal to come along. I am really not a fan of spiders but I cannot deny that this is a little beauty.

Creepy Crawlies

I really do not like spiders, so getting up close with the one above really took some doing.  I know not everyone will appreciate being confronted by these little monsters but I am sure you will agree the detail in these images is really good.

I thought I would post a less scary picture to finish things off today.  This female damsel fly was taking a moment to rest on the reed while all the more colourful males were flitting around busily.

Something creepy for Halloween

Given that it is Halloween I thought I would post something creepy.  I had found a couple of spider pictures the other day which I was going to use but then this morning we found a beautiful spider had built its web in front of the kitchen window which meant that I could get clear shots front and back.

I have used my 100mm macro lens so was able to get in nice and close which means there is lots of spooky detail. I had to use my tripod as well, to keep the camera steady  and make sure I could keep the image sharp. I know spiders are not to everybody's taste but you have to admit these look pretty good. The middle one is my favourite.  Enjoy... if you can!