Friday, 15 June 2012

Crab Spiders

Over the years I have seen occasional images of Crab Spiders taken by other photographers and have always thought that they look like great macro subjects. I have therefore been keeping an eye out for Crab Spiders for several years but until recently I had never spotted a single one. Finally, I recently found a couple and managed to get a number of images on what, I think, are Periwinkle flowers. The species is Misumena vatia (female) and there's no doubt that they are striking macro subjects. What's even better is that they are relatively co-operative. Some spiders won't let you near them but these individuals seemed quite happy to let me get very close. If only all invertebrates were so helpful!

All images taken with a Canon 7D and MP-E 65mm macro lens with diffused MT-24 EX flash.

PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE 




and here are a couple at higher magnification:




Finally, here's one with a Greenbottle Fly:





Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. Simon Litten15 June 2012 at 16:47

    They are so cool! They've actually got a face!
    Great shots, Matt, as ever.
    I suspect this dismal summer we're having is affecting the insect photographers output more than most!

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt Cole16 June 2012 at 06:50

    Thanks Simon and you're right. There seems no end to the wind and rain at the moment.....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown16 June 2012 at 14:49

    Great shots, Matt! Misumena vatia is one of the more common spiders in our garden in Edmonton, Alberta. I can find one almost any time I step out. Often, they are first located by noticing their prey, sitting lifeless in a flower.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Andy Shepherd16 June 2012 at 18:04

    Excellent work, Matt. You already know how much I want one of these in the viewfinder, I had a couple of hours out this morning looking for Crab Spiders but the weather was against me, I could'nt even find a male.

    Andy...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Matt Cole16 June 2012 at 22:50

    Thanks Adrian, it's interesting to know these are common on your side of the pond.

    Thanks also Andy. I get the feeling the distribution of these spiders in the UK is quite localised as I certainly never see them at all in my area (these were photographed some distance away in Warwickshire). Having said that if you're occasionally seeing the males you would imagine there must be some females somewhere! Best of luck finding them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Andy Astbury18 June 2012 at 15:59

    Epic 'stuff' Matt - just brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Matt Cole18 June 2012 at 19:30

    thanks Andy, much appreciated

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)