Arachtober

How cool is this?!!

Flat spider on a pink jacket.

Helping out with a Night Hike at the Texas Butterfly Festival last night, I found this Flattie on one of the attendees. We had a really good time. We saw lots of spiders and I got two new moths species.

Crescent-eyed Spider (Genus Selenops)
#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

Yep. I just had a yellow sac spider tonight that tricked me. I see ghosts more often.

Macro photo of a small light colored spider on a leaf.

Happy All Souls' Day! Continuing with spiders, it's only fitting to post a Ghost Spider.

This is a ghost spider from the genus Hibana. They earned their spooky name from their pale, semi-translucent bodies and their incredibly fast, phantom-like movements.

#spider #macro #macrophotography

They are such dedicated moms. So many people having extra #Arachtober posts this year. Awesome!

Tropical Orbweaver in her web.

Happy All Saints’ Day! Saint Felix of Nola, fleeing persecution, hiding in a small opening in a wall. A spider spun a thick web across the entrance, hiding him from pursuers. Because of this miracle, Saint Felix is considered the patron saint of spiders.
#AllSaintsDay #spider #naturephotography

Stereo image of an orbweaver spider in front of a glowing skeleton.

Happy Halloween!! Another fun but exhausting #Arachtober.
Tropical Orbweaver (Eriophora ravilla)
#Halloween #Spider #stereography #HappyHalloween

Macro photo of a wasp dragging a wolf spider.

Buried Alive - #Arachtober 31
This Wetland Giant Wolf Spider (Tigrosa helluo), paralyzed by a Rusty Spider Wasp (Tachypompilus ferrugineus) sting is being dragged to its grave where it will be eaten alive by the wasp's larvae, in the dark.
#spider #wasp #insect #macro #macrophotography #Halloween

A pair of scorpions holding claws under ultraviolet light.

The Blacklight Ball - #Arachtober 31
Two Striped Bark Scorpions dancing! (Centruroides vittatus)

Macro photography of a crab spider eating a bee with flies.

Happy Fly Day Friday! - #Arachtober 31
Crab Spider (Genus Mecaphesa)
Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Freeloader Flies (Family Milichiidae)
Southern Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago mexicana)

#FlyDayFriday #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography #insect #insectphotography

A tiny arachnid with a gold body and brick-reddish claws. It is standing on bark that looks like rough sandpaper.

Pseudoscorpions are small arachnids that are often overlooked. They prey on clothes moth larvae, carpet beetle larvae, booklice, ants, mites, and small flies. Pseudoscorpions will sometimes hitch rides to new locations on other insects. #Arachtober

A large brown arachnid with a stout pair of pedipalps and eight legs, two of which have evolved into sensory whips. It is standing on my hand with desert mountains in the background.

Vinegaroons are arachnids that are not spiders. They have a large pair of pedipalps that are used to catching and crushing prey. They get the name Vinegaroon because they can discharge foul smelling liquid to deter predators. #Arachtober
(Mastigoproctus sp.) Portal, AZ

A podcast episode for #Arachtober! "New Zealand's Dr Fiona Cross tells a tale of two spiders: one that outsmarted its researchers and another that's mysteriously drawn to our smelly socks." Some legendary spiders, as well as my story of what inspired me to work with them 🕷 pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9m...

Macro photo of a spider hanging upside down shedding its old exoskeleton.

Take it all off! - #Arachtober 31
Molting Western Spotted Orbweaver
(Neoscona oaxacensis)
#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

Spider feet sticking out of a hole.

I noticed a quickly shutting tiny door. I pried it open to see this set of legs. Only good shot I got. Possibly a Southwestern Trapdoor Spider (Eucteniza relata). First trapdoor spider I have found. Found in South Texas.
#Arachtober #spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

November is butterfly and bird migration season. Not that I am pushing, just letting you know this is our best time of year.

South Texas, Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park.

Stereo macro photography of a Wandering Spider.

#Arachtober 28
Leptoctenus byrrhus. A pretty Lycosoidea spider in the Wandering Spider family (Ctenidae) that I don't see very often.
#spider #stereophotography #macrophotography #naturephotography

A small spider in a circular web decoration.

Hackled Orbweaver (Philoponella semiplumosa) - #Arachtober
Spiders in the family Uloboridae do not have venom.
#spider #macro #naturephotography #macrophotography #stereophotography

If you ever make it down this far (Rio Grande Valley, almost the border), I will find you some interesting spiders. 🕷️

Biologists discover skydiving spiders in South American forests - Berkeley News One type of neotropical spider is able to maneuver as it falls

Read more about these amazing flying spiders in this article. There is also linked video. #Aarchtober
news.berkeley.edu/2015/08/18/b...

I had read that but never seen a video. I only found we have Selenops here a few years ago. Now I find them frequently at nature parks. We counted 8 on one palm tree trunk a few nights ago.

A spider with an orangish-gold cephalothorax and a pale colored abdomen with two large spines sticks out in opposite directions from the abdomen. The spider is sitting on a leaf.

How about some spiky spiders tonight? This one is Micrathena acuta, a spiny orbweaver found in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. It is believed that the spines serve as a defense from birds and even predatory wasps.
Cuyabeno Reserve, 2024

Closeup view of an orb weaver spider hanging upside down. Stereo image pair.

Tropical Orbweaver - #Arachtober (Eriophora ravilla)
#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

Macro photo of a large orb weaver spider.

Silver Garden Spider - #Arachtober
(Argiope argentata)
#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

Macro photo stereo pair of a wolf spider eating a fly.

Peekaboo - #Arachtober
Wolf Spider and Fly
(Hogna antelucana)
#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography

Green spider eating a moth.

Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans) with a moth. I am trying (not very successfully) to not post the same species too often, but I love the depth and detail in this shot so I had to share it. #Arachtober #spider #arachnid #naturephotography #macro #macrophotography #stereography #stereopair

🍊Video's up! Here's 15 minutes of Paraphidippus aurantius footage, thoughts, and questions: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRByaUcKSgU

featuring courtship behavior, silk production, possible mate-guarding, cannibalism and more!
#arachtober

Stereo macro photo of a wolf spider mom carrying babies on her back.

Wolf Momma - #Arachtober 22
(Hogna antelucana)
#spider #stereophotography #naturephotography

Stereo macro images of 6 baby spiders.

Baby Silver Argiopes (Argiope argentata) - #Arachtober 21
I wish I had better depth on these, but with the cha cha method of shooting stereo, its near impossible because a few are always wiggling between frames.

#spider #macro #macrophotography #naturephotography