Dew on the Web

One of the classic photos of spider’s webs are those with dew or rain droplets on them. The great thing about moisture on a web is that it widens the web slightly and helps it to stand out more clearly. As already mentioned – the best time of day for dewy webs is mornings.

Fill Your Frame

Use your zoom to get in as close as you can to the spider’s web. If you’ve got a macro lens or macro mode switch to it to help you focus up nice and close. Another framing is to focus upon just a smaller part of the web and the patterns that you see there. In this way you can end up with some real detail and abstract composition.

Shoot from both sides

Sometimes a web can look quite dull and lifeless from one side while the other side has the light falling upon it in a way that just brings it to life! This will also help you to see the web with a different background.

Shoot from head on

Photographing webs from all angles can leave you with interesting results – however getting directly in front of the web and shooting from straight on will enable you to keep the full web in focus as the distance from your lens to all parts of the web will be similar – negating any narrow depth of field you might have. Of course you might also like some shallow depth of field shots (large apertures for these) from different angles to see what effect you can get.

Use Manual Focussing

Switching your camera to manual mode is something that most macro photographers find helpful because even the slightest changes in focussing can have a large impact. As webs are so fine even being slightly out of focus can ruin your shot.

Tripods Please

Keeping the web still by shooting on a still day is important – but so is keeping your camera still. The intricate details of a web on a contrasting background mean that camera movement will be very noticeable.

Be an environmentally friendly photographer

We’ve covered this topic numerous times here at DPS but it’s worth remphasising. Remember that where there’s a web there’s a little (or not so little) creature that made it.

Find a dark background

The backgrounds of all shots are important as they either add to or distract from the shot. WIth spider’s webs it is particularly important to have a plain and preferably dark background. This will enable the web itself to stand out and be the feature of the shot.

Narrow your Depth of Field

To isolate the web further from your plain and dark background choose a large aperture (small ‘f/number’) to give you a shallow depth of field. This will throw your background out of focus.

How to Photograph a Spider’s Web

One subject that presents photographers with wonderful opportunities but also a lot of challenges is the spider’s web. There’s something about their delicate nature (while also being incredibly strong for their size), flexibility and beauty that draws me to them every time.
But how do you photograph spider’s webs? Here are 11 tips to keep in mind:

Shoot on a still day

Spider’s webs are incredibly light and if there’s even a hint of breath in the air they’re likely to move as you photograph them. This has the potential to not only cause blur in your shot – but also movement will shake off any moisture on them and potentially could even break them. Generally the stillest part of the day is early morning (which is also a great time for finding dew covered webs).

Arachnology at the Burke

Arachnology is the study of spiders and other Arachnida. Within these pages, you can learn more about the Burke's terrestrial invertebrates division, its collections, and the ever-popular "Spider Myths".
The collection at the Burke Museum includes 150,000 spiders, as well as other terrestrial invertebrates such as 37,000 butterflies and moths, and some 250,000 additional specimens including worms, cave fauna, scorpions, and a very small flea collection.

Daring Jumping Spider

A Daring Jumping Spider, also known as a Bold Jumping Spider. It is a common spider in the continental United States, except for the west coast.
I always liked these as a kid because they looked like little tarantulas. These are one of the rare spiders my mother didn’t kill, for the same reason. They are not related to tarantulas. That’s probably a good thing because these guys can jump as much as 50 times their body length. I don’t think you’d want to see a tarantula do that!
The daring jumping spider averages anywhere from a half inch to a little more than three-quarters of an inch in length. That means they could potential jump as far as 3 feet and 3 inches!
The jumping spider is an active hunter. They don’t build webs and wait for dinner to come to them. Like the assassin bug, the jumping spider hunts down their next meal!
The jumping spider does not rely on mental manifestation or daydreaming of his next meal, hoping it will arrive at his doorstep. No, the jumping spider actively seeks it out!
The jumping spider works hard during the day and sleeps at night, as most people do. They are curious and not easily intimated, which makes them successful and are, not coincidentally, two of the keys of success for humans as well!
So, if you should see one of these spiders, think of the lessons you can learn. And, wave to him. He might just wave back at you!

Spiders - Meet the Culprits

Spiders are complicated creatures. In most cases they are benevolent little creatures that protect you from harm, harm that is brought about by disease-carrying flies. They also protect you from other creatures that are considered pests. They could be pests in your garden but if the spider is big enough, it can be an effective deterrent to very bothersome mice.
On the other hand, there are many species of spiders that are harmful to humans. Some of these spiders have venom that can harm your family. If you have small pets, the effects of a spider bite from these venomous little creatures may kill them. The same goes for little children. Species like the Black widow has even been known to kill full-size adult human beings. For that reason, spider control is important. You can learn great methods of controlling spiders without pesticides with the Guide to Organic Pest Control...this guide is perfect for anyone with a family or a sensitivity to the chemicals in pesticides.
If the need arises for you to kill a spider, then here are a few simple steps you can read to help you against these eight-legged critters.

1. When you see a spider in your house and are thinking about how to kill spiders, remain calm. Running around screaming is not the best course of action. Take a deep breath. Bottle up some courage and proceed to step two.
2. Look at the spider. You should already know where the spider is. Get close enough to get a good look at the spider without being too close to it that it might be able to reach you and bite you.
3. Most spiders are relatively harmless to human beings. There are only a few spiders that are venomous. Look at the spider to see if there are distinctive marks. Some of the friendly spiders that might fend off more dangerous spider include the Giant House Spider, roughly 3 inches in length or more; Wolf Spider, a strongly-built brown camouflaged spider that preys on flies, and Daddy Long Legs, a spider with really thin long legs that are known to consume dangerous spiders.
4. Look at the spider and determine if it fits the traits of a deadly spider. The Black Widow is a deadly spider and it can be identified by a red mark on its end. It is predominantly black with thin legs and is roughly around three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half long. Another spider to watch out for is the Brown Recluse. It is about the size of a penny and their body color ranges from light brown to coffee. The Brown Recluse can be determined by the stretched violin like marking on its back.
5. Get a large seltzer bottle or any water container that can release high pressure liquid. This will hold the spider long enough for you to kill its. Also get a long flat surface that you will use to poke at the spider and whack it. If the spider is on the wall or on the ceiling, do not stand directly underneath it. Use your long object to poke at the spider until it falls on the floor and spray it with the seltzer bottle. This should immobilize the spider long enough for the next step.
6. With the spider immobilized by the water, keep your eye on the spider as you whack it with your long flat item. Make sure the spider is totally squished. Spiders are known to be sturdier than other insects.
7. Sweep up. Clean up after you have successfully exterminated the creature.

Spider pest control doesn't necessarily mean killing every spider you see. When you want to get rid of spiders, you may want to check with an organic exterminator to find out natural ways for how to get rid of spiders without actually killing them. This, of course, applies to harmless spiders and not poisonous ones. House spiders are rather cool creatures that in most cases do more good than bad. So if you think the spider is not poisonous, you might as well leave it alone. It might even end up protecting you against more venomous spiders.

Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus)

The Western Black Widow or Latrodectus hesperus is just one of the six different species of Black Widow Spiders. These spiders are often found in the western parts of the United States. The female Western Black Widow will have the classic all black body with the hourglass mark on their lower abdomen. The male of this species is about half the size of the of the female and is tan in color. These Black Widows will build strange looking webs compared to most spiders and their silk is much stronger than a lot of other spiders.

Trapdoor Spiders

There are over 100 different species of Trapdoor Spiders. These are probably one of the most cunning spiders on the planet. Trapdoor Spiders literally build a trapdoor from various materials and cover it will plant and soil material to make it blend into its surroundings. This spider will have a length of silk attached to the trapdoor that is quickly opens to grab a passing insect. Trapdoor Spiders can sense the preys vibrations on the ground and sometimes even lay trip wire that lets them know when a meal is near.

Daddy Long Legs Spiders (Pholcus phalangioides)

Daddy Long Legs or Harvestmen are one of the most well known insects in the world. Contrary to popular believe, they are not true spiders at all. There are over 6,500 different species of Daddy Long Legs which are also called Pholcus phalangioides, Cellar Spiders and Skull Spiders! Pictured below is a common species known as Phalangium opilio. As you can see they get their name from their long legs in comparison to its body. There is an urban legend that claims that Daddy Long Legs are the most venomous creature in the world, but lack the fangs to bite a human. This is not all all true, in fact, this spider has no venom glands or fangs, instead they have chelicerae.

Daddy Long Legs spiders will often feed on small insects, fungus, dead organisms and fecal material. As you can imagine these spider fall prey to many different predators, but they have a few tricks up their sleeves. Daddy Long Legs will sometimes play dead and can also detach their legs which will continue to walk away and can confused would be predators. They also have special glands that act as a repellent against ants.

Mouse Spiders

There are 11 different species of Mouse Spiders in the world. These spiders, much like the Trapdoor Spider, are often found in burrows sometimes as much as 1' deep! All of the species of Mouse Spiders besides one are found in Australia.

The bite of the Mouse Spider can be potentially dangerous, but anti-venoms are readily available. These spiders will mostly feed on insects, but they are also known to dine on small animals as well on occasion. The Mouse Spider will often fall prey to centipedes, scorpions and even wasps.

Mouse Spiders are medium sized growing to about 3cm in length. They have a glossy looks with eyes spread out on the front of their head. Females of this species are always all black while their male counterparts can be other colors then black.

Corn Spider (Argiope aurantia)

The Corn Spider or Argiope aurantia is known by a few different names including the Banana Spider, Writing spider and the Black and Yellow Garden Spider.  Dispite this spiders menacing appearance it is not dangerous to humans.  These spiders can yellow and black markings with a white cephalothorax.  Males of this spcies can reach 9mm with females reaching 28mm.

When the Corn Spider builds its web it can be as much as 2' in diameter and is normally as least 2' off the ground.  These spiders don't travel much during their lifetimes normally staying near the same location for their entire lives.  

You can check out the Corn Spider with your own eyes in the videos below...





If you have any additional information about the Corn Spider please share. 

Blue-fanged Tarantula

 The Blue-fanged Tarantula is a species of Tarantula that was just discovered in the Amazon. This spiders scientific name is Ephebous cyanognathus and as you can see gets it name from it HUGE blue fanged. The rest of this spiders body is completely brown. The purpose for the coloration of these fangs is still unknown, but it is though to warn potential predators.

If you have any additional information about the Blue-fanged Tarantula please share. 

White Tail Spider

The White Tail Spider found in Australia is considered to be one of the most dangerous spiders in the world. It venom causes extreme pain and the chemicals on its skin can infect the wound make a bad situation even worse.


White Tail Spiders are cannibals of sorts, hunting other spiders and eating them.  As you can see in the video below they are small and can hide many places undetected. 

Males Can Sniff Out A Well Fed Female July 8, 2011

If they’re a male black widow spider, that is. Simply by taking a little saunter across the female’s web, a male black widow can sense if a female is hungry or not. Why does it matter? Because female black widow spiders have a rather freaky habit of eating the male after mating. It’s how they earned their dangerous name.

Now that's one massive female black widow spider. You would almost think she's been doing some seriously heavy weights at the gym. But nope, females are normally much bigger than males. Those males best watch out!

The Smell Of Safety
Males have developed this very useful technique, which tells them whether or not a female has recently eaten. But if a female is hungry, she would be more likely to cannibalize the male spider. They take a sniff of those silk strands and then decide if they want to proceed or scurry away. A new study discovered this interesting skill and published the findings in the journal Animal Behaviour. So, how do researchers actually go about testing something like this?
Feeding Time For The Ladies
First things first. The researchers fed a bunch of hungry female back widow spiders. Using a cricket neatly held between forceps, they rested it on the web and waited for the female to come over, wrap the cricket in silk and chow down. The females got one cricket each week. Yet, by the time the fourth week came around, they weren’t so hungry anymore and didn’t really want to eat the crickets.

I bet this female black widow spider is thinking: "Ah, the satisfaction from a good meal of crickets. I think I'll accept the advances of the male spider perched nearby. Since I'm well fed, I probably won't eat him after we're done."

Another bunch of female black widow spiders were starved for a few weeks. It apparently didn’t put their lives at risk, but they did get a bit smaller. 

ClosetAtheist

If you’re like me, your skin is sure to start crawling whenever you see one of these creepy crawlers. Most of us are very quick to curb stomp one of these little bastards when they dare cross our path. It generally doesn’t matter what size they are either. We are gonna’ take them down, and we pray (to Dawkins?) that we don’t find one in our room before going to bed because it will be most difficult to fall asleep until they are eliminated. But, what happens if we see them from a different perspective? What happens when we ascribe value to them?

I happen to have a black and yellow garden spider making a nice home for herself in the backyard. I noticed the magnificent craftsmanship of her web and immediately changed my perspective. Had I seen her creeping around on the patio, I would probably run for some spider spray or just stomp her out. Instead, I recognized the value that she had and the reciprocal altruistic nature of our relationship. I provide living space and shade, and she provides a death trap for flying insects that like to sting or eat away plants. She’s not poisonous and will not likely bite unless provoked. This is what happens when we stop objectifying others, regardless of species. Problems emerge when we stop seeing any value in another sentient creature; the Holocaust immediately comes to mind. The anti-Semitism derived from the Bible and Martin Luther’s distain for the Jew’s created an atmosphere of hatred and objectification. Hitler latched on to this ideology and made it a main area of primary concern in his reign. He refused to see the value in the Jewish people, blinded by hatred and religious vitriol.

It’s imperative that we learn to see the value in others. I believe that living morally requires the often conscious effort to find value in those around you despite their apparent flaws. There is no one that doesn’t have something to offer. Even the most decrepit can often teach us lessons about ourselves. Indeed, even a spider can illustrate the mental transition we can make when we see them as more than adversaries or pests. Anyway, I thought I would provide a little food for thought. 

What Can Wellness Coaches Learn From Black Widow Spiders?

I had big plans for getting you out a post this week to help you grow your wellness coaching business. Life had other plans it seemed.
My husband was bitten by a black widow spider this week…in more than one place on his ankle. It’s not pretty. It’s not been an easy week. Initially, I struggled against the change in plans. Then I surrendered. Now, my commitment to making the most of what’s presented to me brings me here to the page. So here’s a post after all.
Those of you who’ve read my blog for ages, know that I’m a big fan of using metaphor. Those of you who are new here will see that trend soon enough. Today, I’m using the blessed black widow spider to help you thrive in and grow your business as a Wellness Coach. It’s not a long post, and it’s certainly not complicated. It’s simple really. It’s meant to spark your thinking, to invite you to consider…to stop just for a moment and take stock

8 Things You Can Learn From a Spider

Before you whack it with a sneaker, take a moment to consider what the spider might teach you.

To succeed we’re often told to emulate the lowly ant. “Go to the ant thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise,” the Bible tells us. The ant’s industriousness is also heralded in the classic Aesop’s fable where the lazy grasshopper lays around all summer while the ant is busy scurrying about preparing for winter. Even that anthropomorphic cartoon ant is always getting one over on the Aardvark.
The thing is, the ant doesn’t work alone, she’s part of a colony (they’re all “shes” except for the drones), often numbering in the millions. Some believe the colony itself to be one giant organism with each ant a mere cog in the wheel. As a result each individual ant is expendable and readily replaced. Kind of like the world of business of late.  If an ant found herself downsized where would she go? While ants have impressive specialized skills, without the colony the individual ant is doomed. Sadly, that appears to be the grim prospect awaiting many in the workforce today.
I say, if you are going to look for inspiration among the tiny critters in the corners of your house,  look to the spider. I saw one the other day, a large, black hairy jumping spider.  She was walking along what to her must have been the strange alien landscape of my glass patio table. I crouched down to take a closer look and as I did she sensed me, stopped, and pivoted quickly on 8 legs to regard me with an equal number of blue-green eyes. This little creature was the product of 300 million years of evolution. Her kind was doing their thing before the dinosaurs roamed the earth. In the scheme of things, my kind is a latecomer to the gig of life.
Amazing spider, what can we learn from your success?
1. Patience. A spider is nothing if not patient. Check out an orb-weaver in your garden, or a common house spider in a dusty corner. After spinning a web they sit and bide their time. Spiders haven’t been around for hundreds of millions of years by complaining, or blaming others for their problems. They’ve got a job to do and they do it.

2. Hunger. Spiders are usually always hungry.  It drives them to roam, or to sit motionless for hours in their quest for prey. The spider knows if you’re not hungry for something you will quickly be eaten by someone else who is.
3. A neat bag of tricks. Spiders are famous for their ability to spin webs. Some spiders, such as the orb weaver, spin elaborate webs, while the handiwork of other species can be more crude.  The jumping spider doesn’t spin webs at all except to cover its eggs but it can also release a strand when it jumps to slow it’s descent, like a parachute. The jumping spider can also jump 25 times it’s own length. No doubt you’ve got some specialized skills in your own bag of tricks. When was the last time you used them?
4. They know what’s on their to-do list. The spider doesn’t while away the day pondering it’s purpose, or wondering about its place in the cosmos, or the futility of its existence. The spider starts each day with a single-minded purpose: Overpower something, and eat it.

5. The spider is always “in the now.” Arachnids would make Eckhart Tolle proud as they are always present in their current circumstances.  They don’t waste time on the past, or live in a non-existent future. They’re not on Facebook. Oblivious to their brief 1-2 year lifespan, the spider is always in the moment.
6. They walk a lonely road. Unlike ants, the spider doesn’t have a colony to depend on. From the moment it hatches most  spiders are on their own. They have to make their own breaks and there’s no one to bail them out. Sound familiar?
7. No intimidation. The spider doesn’t sit around thinking, “There must be other spiders better than me or more talented. Look at that web, I can’t do that.” NO. The spider brings it. It’s always game on for the spider. A million other spiders competing per each acre of grass? Who cares. Subduing prey 5 times larger than themselves? Bring it on.
8. They don’t pity themselves. The odds are stacked against the spider from the start. Most are eaten long before they reach maturity. There are predators everywhere, birds, wasps, other spiders, sometimes a size 12 Converse. The English novelist D.H. Lawrence once wrote: “I have never seen a wild thing feel sorry for itself. A little bird will fall dead, frozen from a bough, without ever having felt sorry for itself.”  So it is for the spider. They live out their lives in a “no whining zone.”
I grabbed a small twig and held it in front of my spider. As if to demonstrate her impressive leaping skills she seemingly materialized on the twig.  I carefully carried her over and released her in some leaves by a fence.  The spider paused for a moment to regard me again, then scurried off  to tackle her “to-do” list. It was a reminder to me to scurry off and tackle mine.