Tag Archives: arachnids

2018 New Mexico/Texas Insect Collecting Trip “iReport”

Posted on February 2, 2019 by

This is the fifth in a series of Collecting Trip “iReports”—so named because I’ve illustrated them exclusively with iPhone photographs (see previous articles for 2013 Oklahoma, 2013 Great Basin, 2014 Great Plains, and 2015 Texas). Note that I continue to use … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae, Asteraceae, Aves, Buprestidae, Cactaceae, Cerambycidae, Cicadidae, Cicindelidae, Cleridae, Coleoptera, Coreidae, Curculionidae, Diapheromeridae, Diplopoda, Euphorbiaceae, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Orthoptera, Phasmida, Pompilidae, Reptilia, Sapotaceae, Scarabaeidae, Scorpiones, Solifugida, Tettigoniidae, Trogidae, Vertebrata | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

When is an ant not an ant? When it’s a jumping spider, of course!

Posted on May 30, 2018 by

This past weekend my good friend and long-time collecting partner Rich and I visited one of our favorite insect collecting spots in all of Missouri – Victoria Glades Conservation Area. Together with an adjacent parcel owned by The Nature Conservancy, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

An arboreal fishing spider

Posted on May 2, 2014 by

Last week was my birthday, and as is my usual custom I took the day off in favor of the season’s first “official” bug collecting trip. Falling in late April as it does, my birthday usually coincides nicely with insect activity … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mother and daughter (perhaps)

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

Back in May I visited the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Plant Pest Diagnostics Laboratory in Sacramento. While I was there to visit my friend and colleague Chuck Bellamy and see him receive Honorary Membership in The Coleopterists Society, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amblipygi, Arachnida | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Araneus marmoreus encore

Posted on November 23, 2012 by

Here is the full-sized photo from which the crop shown in Super Crop Challenge #14 was taken. The small finger-like structure in the upper right of the photo—the object of the challenge—is the epigyne (or epigynum) of Araneus marmoreus (marbled orb weaver spider). Spiders … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

A non-black background is better… often!

Posted on August 12, 2012 by

In my previous post, A black background is better… sometimes, I came to the defense of the oft-maligned pitch black background. Some macrophotographers studiously avoid black backgrounds (BBs), claiming that they look ‘unnatural’. However, as I discussed in my previous post, there are situations—primarily … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A black background is better… sometimes

Posted on August 9, 2012 by

If there is one subject that causes more disagreement among macrophotographers, it is the pitch black background. Granted, black backgrounds are common—almost ubiquitous in macrophotography, since they are easily created by using full flash illumination and ensuring that nothing lies behind … Continue reading →

Posted in Arachnida, Araneae | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Damon diadema—Tanzanian giant tailless whip scorpion

Posted on June 12, 2012 by

I’ve reared more than my share of arthropods over the years—from easy ones like Madagascan hissing cockroaches to hard ones like certain tiger beetles (in fact, I’m the only person to have ever seen the larva of Cylindera celeripes, much … Continue reading →

Posted in Amblipygi, Arachnida | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments