Sunday 3 October 2010

Macro Monday: The Spider and the Fly

I didn't want to have to do this, but it seems that my loyal readership has let me down. And so there will be no more cute and cuddly critters. There will be no more floral fancies or beautiful birds. Nope, we are back to the grotesque and ugly, the macabre and morbid, the ghoulish and ghastly. Hmmmmm, maybe I should have saved this one for Halloween? Oh well, I feel the need to display my displeasure now by posting these Macro Monday photos:






To be honest, I actually quite like the little jumping spider. I know, I know, there are far too many legs and eyes, but as far as spiders go, these little guys have quite a bit of character. Did you know that there are more species of jumping spiders than any other kind of spider and that they catch their prey, not by using silk but by, well, jumping on it? Their eyesight is suberb and they even have 4 types of pigment cells in their retinas and so can see all of the colours that we can as well as ultraviolet light. The males perform complex dances and even sing to the females. If she likes what she sees and hears, she may vibrate her abdomen in return before the loving begins.

Oh, and if you haven't worked out why I am displeased yet, well it seems that no one nominated me for a Canadian Blog Award. I guess my Auntie was right all along - "Ask and you don't get."

Of course, if you did actually nominate me, you may have to visit the site and complain loudly and vigorously about the loss of your nomination. If that doesn't work, you may have to get together with Carolina and invade Canada. Don't worry, the limited army that we do have is all in Afghanistan, so it shouldn't be too hard.

For more Macro Monday, go here.

PS If you did nominate me, or if the nomination is now there, please forgive the content of this post and rest assured that I shall find something more appealing for next Monday.

20 comments:

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

awesome macros!

Kim, USA said...

Fantastic macro shots!! I wonder how this bug can see their eyes is different ^_^

Macro Monday

Cortes said...

Good photos, nasty subjects. I much prefer the flowers. Nominate you I did, so if they have a habit of losing the nominations, perhaps they are not worth the effort?

Susannah Anderson said...

Hey, they don't have a "Nature" or "Nasty Bugs" category. What's with that? No wonder you (and I) aren't there!

Kala said...

Aww, your bug profiles are awesome!

Mike B. said...

Spectacular photos! Bring on more morbid and gross- I love them.

Maaike said...

what a horror on the early morning
;-) lovely macros!

Hootin Anni said...

That 2nd one is my favorite....like something from a scary SCI FI movie!! Awesome.

If you care to stop by for my macro photo this week, HERE IS THE LINK

Carolina said...

I díd nominate you! Does this mean I actually have to invade Canada? Gosh.
Uhm.
Yes.
Well.
Uhm.
It's quite inconvenient this week. And next week I have other things planned too. Sorry. But I dó think you deserve the award.

Great photos again. Poor fly.

EG CameraGirl said...

Neat and so appropriate now that Halloween is only weeks away. :)

EG CameraGirl said...

Neat and so appropriate now that Halloween is only weeks away. :)

jabblog said...

I looked to see if you'd been nominated but your blog didn't appear so I've nominated you now. At this rate, you're bound to win :-)

Cortes said...

So, I entered another nomination. First time I created a "Travel" category, this time I sponsored you under "Humor". We'll see if that works better.

Anonymous said...

Ewwwwwwwww....but what spectacular details!

Birgitta said...

OMG! Amzing details!

Christine said...

Wow, those are really good, and CLOSE!

Janneke said...

OM you got some great Macros!

Anonymous said...

Like all the best bug macros these are ever so slightly creepy! Great shots. :)

Unknown said...

beautiful details, dont worry about me you know i love insect photography.

i almost missed your question about the droplet, sorry for the late reply.


i followed the tutorial here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bakf1LBaesI&NR=1

or you can just type droplet photography in youtube search and it will give you dozens of tutorial clips.

i just added my personal touch of blue and red cardboards as background for the colour effect.

regards,

Dave

Don't Bug Me! said...

Thanks Trish!

Kim: Apparently, 4 eyes are better than two!

Cortes: Perhaps you are right......

Susannah: There should definitely be a nature category - perhaps with a sub category for bugs, nice or nasty.

Kala: Thank you!

Mike B.: I shall have to see what I can do for halloween.

Maaike: Inded, perhaps I shall go back to something cute for next week.

Hootin': Not sure if I can find anything more scary for Halloween ......I shall have to try though.

Carolina: Oh come on, don't let me down now!

EG Wow: What is more scary than the fly.........? We shall have to wait and see.

Jabblog: Bound to win, really, aren't I? Because if I don't, Carolina is going to invade Canada, if she can find the time, of course.

Cortes: Hey, these are all very serious nature / photography posts. Humour!?!

Tammy: Perhaps too much detail is not always a good thing?

Birgitta: Thank you.

Christine: I think I was using my (sorry, Cortes') reverse 50mm lens to get so close.

Angelcel: But some bugs are just so cute and not at all ugly. My little weevil avatar being an example.

Dave: Excellent - thanks for the info. Now I have something else to waste my time on.