Whip Scorpion Meets Cricket

Juvenile African whip scorpion (Damon diadema) feeding on a two week old cricket

I’ve come to realize that I take great pleasure in photographing animals when they are feeding…especially if the critter in question is a predator (and the food, obviously, is its prey). Part of the reason is simply the fact that “action” photos tend to be more interesting than portraits—but not always so easy to take. But I also just take inordinate pleasure in observing arthropods eating. That’s a little weird isn’t it?

A few weeks ago I received some nice captive bred juvenile Damon diadema whip scorpions from a breeder in Quebec. Whip scorpions (also known as the tailless whip scorpions) belong to the order Amblypygi which are found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. D. diadema is one of the largest species with a leg span reaching about 20 cm (8 inches). The species ranges through Central and East Africa.

I “met” my first whip scorpion in the Amazon jungle one night back in the 90s. I shone my flashlight on this amazing beast as big as my hand and it was love at first sight.

My specimens are still very small, with a body length of approximately one centimeter and a leg span of a little more than a loonie (about 30 mm for those non-Canadians out there). The photo above is a nice picture of one of them making friends with a two week old cricket (aka dinner).

The photo couldn’t have been much easier to take. Each whip scorpion is housed in a clear plastic container (originally designed to sit in your fridge filled with baking soda) along with a large piece of bark and a moist substrate. The whip scorpions hang out on the nearly vertical bark. I set up my gear and waited until the critter was distracted by dinner. Then I just popped the top of the container off, and while holding the camera in one hand I lifted the bark up until the whip scorpion was clear of the plastic. Took the photo, and put the bark back. Easy-peasy!

These are great critters! And it’s always nice to see them enjoying their food. I guess that makes me either overly motherly or particularly demonic, depending on whether you are a whip scorpion or a cricket…

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (TTL)
ISO: 200

A jumping spider joins the family BBQ

Juvenile Phiddipus jumping spider feeding on another spider (possibly a philodromid crab spider). Photographed with a Zuiko 6omm micro 4/3 macro lens

Last weekend I was enjoying the beautiful weather by preparing a nice BBQ dinner for the family. We had just sat down at the table (out on the deck) when my youngest son pointed out a “spider carrying another spider” (as he put it) on one of the deck posts. It turned out to be a jumping spider that had caught and was feeding on another spider. Naturally I wanted to take some photos, but seeing as we had just sat down to eat—and I am always after my boys to finish their dinner before jumping up to play with something—I opted to eat first and shoot later. So we all had dinner together: the humans ate sockeye salmon, nugget potatoes roasted in herbs and olive oil, Caesar salad, corn and a crisp white wine (yum!); while the arachnid feasted on its hapless cousin (tentatively identified as a philodromid crab spider). I have to admit it was a little torturous because the spider just sat on the post, a few feet away from me, the whole time. It munched while I munched and I expected any moment that it would finish and be on its way un-photographed.

Somewhat surprisingly the spider was still there when we finished eating (it even waited while I did the dishes). Then I was able to grab my camera and start shooting, and even more surprisingly the spider was quite cooperative…

Juvenile Phiddipus jumping spider feeding on another spider (possibly a philodromid crab spider). Photographed with a Zuiko 6omm micro 4/3 macro lens and 16mm + 10mm extension tubes.

Juvenile Phiddipus jumping spider feeding on another spider (possibly a philodromid crab spider). Photographed with a Zuiko 6omm micro 4/3 macro lens

At first, given the size of the spider I assumed it was an adult Salticus scenicus (zebra jumping spider) or Platycryptus californicus, both of which are pretty common in my back yard. But when I got a closer look through my camera lens I could see that it looked quite different from these other two species. It also behaved differently—not nearly as timid.

Juvenile Phiddipus jumping spider feeding on another spider (possibly a philodromid crab spider). Photographed with a Zuiko 6omm micro 4/3 macro lens and 16mm + 10mm extension tubes.

Juvenile Phiddipus jumping spider feeding on another spider (possibly a philodromid crab spider). Photographed with a Zuiko 6omm micro 4/3 macro lens

It turns out that the critter in question was a juvenile Phiddipus, a younger version of the jumping spider I photographed last summer feeding on a huge (compared to the spider) caterpillar (see: Macro big game hunting: a boreal jumping spider feeding on a western tent caterpillar). Apparently these spiders are pretty fierce predators for their size.

I have to admit to being a little bit uncertain about the species however. I identified the spider I photographed last summer as a boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis). But the spider I photographed last weekend looks identical to photos of a juvenile female red-backed jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni) posted on Bugguide (http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740). It turns out that both P. borealis and P. johnsoni range into my area, and to be honest, I’m not so sure I can tell them apart. So do I have P. borealis or P. johnsoni in my yard? Or maybe both? At this point it’s a mystery…

A mystery that 99.99% of people really aren’t going to be concerned about! I’m really starting to sound like a nerd aren’t I? In any case, the photos turned out nice.

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/2 power)
ISO: 200

Flyday April 11, 2014: the fantastic and fenominal filth fly!

 

Muscina sp., sometimes called a “filth fly”

I haven’t posted a “Flyday” for a very long time. Originally, my goal was to post a different fly photo every Friday [“Flyday”, get it?…Yeah, I know groan…], but I dropped that ball a long time ago. Sigh…

A little warning, if you are eating right now you might want to wait and read this blog after you have finished…

Muscina sp., sometimes called a “filth fly”

These pictures are of a specimen (or specimens, it’s hard to know) of Muscina. This is a small genus of flies (less than 30 species) that are found worldwide, commonly hanging around livestock facilities, restrooms, outhouses, cadavers…you can see where this going can’t you? Yup, many of these flies breed in manure and on corpses. As if that wasn’t enough, they also defecate on food and spread disease by transferring fecal material stuck to their feet to food or open wounds. Hence the common name “filth fly”. To be fair, “filth fly” seems to be a widespread term for any type of fly that is attracted to feces, urine or dead things and tends to also be applied to flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) and blow flies (Calliphoridae). Apparently another name for the Muscina is “disease-causing flies”, but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Muscina sp., sometimes called a “filth fly”

So how do you photograph these critters? Well, first you get some filth…

I took these pictures last summer the day after I had put out a piece of salmon carcass to attract flies to photograph (I do this quite often, see for example: Macro photographs of insects feeding on salmon: take 2). The salmon was long gone (thrown in the garbage after the shoot), but the “essence” of dead fish must have still been present on the wood the fish had rested on. Interestingly, the fresh fish had mainly attracted flesh flies, blow flies and yellow jacket wasps (Vespula sp.). But the next day (when the fish smell would have been rancid) it was these flies that were hanging around—along with the bald faced hornet that was trying to catch them. I wonder if that is the succession of arrivals at a corps too. I’ll have to check on that…

Anyhow, getting the shots was just a matter of patience—waiting for a fly to pause long enough, and in the right position for the picture. I shot at F11 as a compromise between depth of field and resolution.

Muscina sp., sometimes called a “filth fly”

I hope you agree that despite their rather unpleasant but ecologically very important natural history (well, maybe except for the whole defecating on food thing), they make for great photos!

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/160 sec)
Lighting: Olympus flash (I don’t remember which one or the setting—oops!)
ISO: 200

Update: way back on Aug 23, 2012 I posted a couple of fly photos I created using photo stacking (see: More image stacking: portraits of flies). I originally misidentified one of the specimens as Calliphora vomitoria when it was actually Calliphora vicina. Many thanks to Marcello for leaving a comment that corrected my mistake. That post has now been updated with new information.

Portrait of a bald-faced hornet

Portrait of a bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculate. This species isn’t a true hornet; it is a type of yellowjacket wasp.

I have to say, I’m really digging this picture of a bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). The cool thing is that I barely remember taking it last summer. As I noted in my previous post, up until last week I hadn’t picked-up my camera for months. But I did a lot of shooting last summer and have quite a number of images stored on my computer. So I went into my files to find something to post. I was going through a series of photos of flesh flies that I just barely remember taking when I came upon this portrait. What a nice surprise! And how the heck did I forget about this image?

I love the details in the face! The textured white face and black markings make it look like it’s wearing a mask made from an animal skull. I’m also fascinated by the way the wasp is resting with its front legs off the ground. I’ve noticed before that these critters do this, but I have no idea why. Does it allow a quick getaway, or maybe keeps the front legs free to help capture prey? If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

The sad thing is that is has been so long, and I have been so distracted by other interests (see I’m Baaaack) that I don’t remember all the technical details about taking the photo. I know I shot it with the OM-D E-M5 using the 60mm macro lens. But I have no idea whether I was using the Olympus RF-11 ring flash or the Olympus FL-36 flash with diffuser. I’m pretty sure it was the ring flash, but I’m not sure. I guess that is another good thing about posting on my blog—it gives me a record of my photography to refer back to and augment my admittedly spotty memory.

Wait, what was I talking about?

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/160 sec)
Lighting: Olympus flash (I don’t remember which one or the setting—oops!)
ISO: 200

I’m Baaaak!

So where the heck have I been? Lost in the wilds of South Delta? Nope. Abducted by aliens? Nope again. Kidnapped and seduced by Zoot, Dingo and the maidens of Castle Anthrax? Sadly, no.

Life just got really busy for a while. I have a demanding job, a long daily commute, two little boys that expect (rightly) lots of daddy time, animals to take care of, yard work to do…you know the drill. Basically I have only a couple of hours every week to devote to personal interests like photography.
Then in September I decided it was time to deal with some of the chaos in the back storage room. I moved everything out and started building shelves. Then I used the new space to build a tiny shop area. Of course a shop needs to be full of tools, so I began a rather expended tool shopping binge. And of course, I started a number of woodworking projects. I have to admit it was a real pleasure to finally have a place to work with my hands and build things.

The next thing I knew I hadn’t picked up my camera or blogged for months. But my photography was always in the back of my mind. I knew I’d get back to it once the shop mania finally burned out.
Well, last week I needed to take some photos of walrus ivory carvings for a report I’m publishing. I pulled out my camera gear and was surprised by how good it felt to start shooting again.
And now spring is, well, springing! The cherry trees are in blossom, flowers are sprouting…and I have had to start mowing the grass. Pretty soon I’ll start seeing critters to photograph.

I can’t wait…

Spring has sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where them bugsies is?

Cheers,
EC

Flyday August 23, 2013: portrait of a flesh fly

A flesh fly (Sarcophaga sp.) feeding on a salmon carcass.

When in doubt, post a picture of a flesh fly… 

There is no real story to go with this picture. It’s just another photo of a beautiful red-eyed flesh fly (Sarcophaga sp.) feeding on a salmon carcass. I’ve already posted once today, but it is Friday, and time to post another fly photo. This is probably the same species I posted on July 26, 2013 (see the fabulous flesh fly), but it wasn’t on the same piece of fish. This piece had been sitting out in the sun for a while and was quite dried out. 

I never get tired of photographing these critters. I just love the red eyes, white face and all those fantastic hairs (setae). 

Happy Flyday!
EC 

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/4-1/2 power)
ISO: 200

Video: half-black bumble bees mating

Where I make my first porno film… 

A pair of half-black bumble bees (Bombus vagans) mating on the rug on the deck in my backyard. They were attached and in this spot for over an hour.

We had just finished dinner a couple of days ago when my youngest son (six) looked out through the sliding glass door and told me that there was a really big bug out on the deck. At first I just thought it was a leaf moving in the breeze (my eyes not being what they once were). But when I looked closer I realized that what he had actually spotted were two connected insects: a pair of half-black bumble bees (Bombus vagans) busily mating. 

A pair of half-black bumble bees (Bombus vagans) mating. Note the impressive stinger exhibited by the queen.

The bees were right in the open on the rug that covers most of the deck. It didn’t provide the most natural looking background, but at least it made for easy photography. The bees were rather focused on their activity and were completely oblivious to me, so after I took a few pictures, I decided to shoot some video. I couldn’t have had much more cooperative subjects. The only real challenge was that the sun was starting to go down and the light was dropping rapidly. So I shot most of the video using a small portable video light in an attempt to stop the lens down as far as I could and maximize the depth of field. In retrospect I should have increased the ISO and gained even more depth of field. I am just so used to shooting for higher resolution that I just never think of playing with the sensitivity.

In any case, and without further ado, I give you my latest video attempt: 

The video is really a bit silly, and the staff of National Geographic has no reason to be worried (yet). But it was fun to produce and I learned a lot about video editing. And I am inordinately proud of the opening “macrocritters” graphic I designed! 

Cheers
EC
PS: I was really surprised at the size of the stinger the queen had! I always think of bumble bees as being completely inoffensive, but she was packing some impressive armament! I don’t know exactly how long her stinger was, but she was about an inch long (25mm). Apparently when the stinger is not needed it is hidden inside the bumble bee’s last abdominal segment. I guess it was necessary to extend it under the, um, circumstances. Drones don’t have a stinger.

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Still photos:
   Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/250 sec)
   Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/4-1/2 power)
   ISO: 200
Video:
  Settings: shutter priority exposure (@ 1/50 sec shutter speed)
  Lighting: Natural light + small video light hand-held
  ISO: 200

Flyday August 16, 2013: a midge massacre!

Non-biting midge (chironomid) that has been trapped by a cape sundew (Drosera capensis). Sundews (Drosera) are a genus of plants that capture and digest insects as a nutritional supplement to compensate for the poor soil in which they normally live. Insects get stuck to the stalked sticky (mucilaginous) glands covering their leaves.

The horror! 

Out on the back deck of my house I have two large saucers that hold a number of small pots of carnivorous plants. Most of the plants are Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) and sundews (Drosera spp.), including two good sized cape sundews (Drosera capensis). At least once a day I check the plants to see if they have trapped anything interesting. Of course I can’t usually tell what the flytraps might have caught—unless of course there are tell-tale legs or wings sticking out (see Beauty and the beast; The Venus flytrap conundrum; Insects meet Venus flytrap). 

Well a couple of weeks ago I went out and I don’t know if there had been a midge convention on my deck or something, but the cape sundews had both trapped several non-biting midges, all of which seemed to be the same species. 

Non-biting midge (chironomid) that has been trapped by a cape sundew (Drosera capensis).

Non-biting midge (chironomid) that has been trapped by a cape sundew (Drosera capensis).

Naturally, when faced with carnage of this scale I did what any red-blooded biologist would do…I took pictures! 

Happy Flyday!
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/4-1/2 power)
ISO: 200

Flyday August 9, 2013: greenbottle on red salmon

Greenbottle fly (Lucilia sericata) feeding on a sockeye salmon carcass

TGIF: Thank God its Flyday!

I don’t have much of a story to go with this photo today. It’s just another nice photo of a greenbottle (Lucilia sericata)—my favourite fly species feeding on salmon. It will come as no surprise that I took this picture on the same day (and on the same piece of salmon) as the last time I featured this species (see Flyday July 19, 2013: the greenbottle, now that’s a fly). 

I actually had planned to post a series of midge photos today. But for the past couple of days I have been trying my hand at time lapse photography—trying to make a video of an insectivorous plant’s movements after trapping an insect. I spent quite a bit of time on the project today (as well as chasing kids, watering the garden and other typical summer activities) and to put it simply, it didn’t work. I need to sort out a couple of technical issues and try again this weekend. But it meant I didn’t have time to finish editing the midge photos or write the blog. 

Stay tuned for midges and (hopefully) time lapse video soon. 

Happy flyday!
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/4-1/2 power)
ISO: 200

Macro big game hunting: a boreal jumping spider feeding on a western tent caterpillar

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum).

I took these pictures of a boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum) last June. I spotted the spider just after it had caught the caterpillar and was dragging it across the leaf of one of the banana plants in my garden. It’s always amazing to see what large prey small spiders are able to catch and haul around. Sort of like me killing a bull moose and carrying it home for dinner.  

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) that has just killed a much larger western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum). The caterpillar is still holding on to the leaf with its rear prolegs.

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum).

Shooting this little critter was awkward as it was climbing around about six feet off the ground and it clearly didn’t want me to watch. The entire shoot consisted of it and I playing hide and seek in the thicket of banana plants. At the time I was mainly shooting with my 35mm Zuiko macro lens which has a very short working distance; and that made the experience even more challenging. In fact, it was the experience of trying to shoot this spider that finally convinced me to invest in a 60mm Zuiko micro 4/3 macro lens which has the same magnification but much better working distance. 

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum). Its a little difficult to hide successfully while dangling such a huge meal.

I love the “got it” feeling when I press the shutter and know that I just captured a great photo. The feeling is especially satisfying after taking a long series of inferior photos in a difficult situation and/or of an uncooperative subject. But in this case I never got that feeling. I took many photos and eventually had to quit without feeling really satisfied. I just uploaded the pictures, and then filed them away. 

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum).

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum). Talk about a mouthful!

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum).

Yesterday I re-opened the file and took another look at the images. I was surprised to find that there were a lot of pictures that I really liked. What really struck me was how variable the images are. Clearly I was changing things up while I was shooting in an effort (unsuccessfully so I thought) to get just the right shot. The result was a series of photos at different angles and with different compositions, some of which have a different feel from my typical work (in a good way). 

A boreal jumping spider (Phidippus borealis) feeding on a western tent caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum). The spider had been feeding on the caterpillar for about 30 minutes and you can see the corpse is shrinking and collapsing as the spider consumes its tissues.

Apparently it was worth reviewing these photos with “fresh” eyes. I wonder what other surprises I have tucked away in my files…? 

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F8-11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus FL-36 flash (Full power)
ISO: 200