Ant-mimicking jumping spider (Myrmarachne)

[morfa]

Hello everyone,

I'm sharing a few stacks and shots of a male ant-mimicking jumping spider, Myrmarachne formicaria, Salticidae.


Canon 5DmkII, Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 10x/0.28, "morfanon", 464 frames stacked in Zerene Stacker, larger view here »

Synthetic stereogram:

High resolution flash stereogram here »


Canon 5DmkII, Mitutoyo M Plan Apo 5x/0.14, "morfanon", 160 frames stacked in Zerene Stacker, larger view here »

Here in Sweden this species is the sole representative from this fascinating genus of jumping spiders. In fact, very few species are found outside the tropics. It's quite rare and this is the only specimen I've ever encountered.

I found this little guy in July 2010, walking on my picnic bag during an evening barbeque. I didn't have my camera gear with me so I caught it in a jar and brought it with me. The next day we returned to the location and searched for hours, trying to find and shoot another one in it's natural surroundings. We looked under rocks and logs sifted through litter and crawled around in the grass. Needless to say, we found lots of other interesting critters – but no Myrmarachne!

I kept this spider as a pet for several months and I was a bit sad when it eventually died. It had been a treat to watch it catch the flies I released in its jar. Below are a couple of "action shots":

3D-goggles

Fujifilm S5pro, Micro-Nikkor 105/4, Raynox MSN-202, Nikon SB-400 flash, More images from this occasion »


Fujifilm S5pro, Micro-Nikkor 105/4, Raynox MSN-202, Nikon SB-400 flash

To be or not to be...

Canon 5DmkII, Componon 28/4 reversed on a Novoflex 42 bellows, Canon 270EX flash, More images from this occasion »

Thanks for looking!
_________________
John Hallmén
http://www.flickr.com/johnhallmen

[Macrero]

Amazing series John ! A great job as usual .

Regards !

[BugEZ]

The deep stack is excellent, but I especially like the action shots.

Keith

[Craig Gerard]

[rumbert]

Woww!!!!

What a wonderful spider!!! and the shots are incredible!!!
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Always learning

[morfa]

[crisarg]

Outstanding work John.

Cristian
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Cristian Arghius

Flickr

[TheLostVertex]

Great photos. I really like the third.
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-Steven
Flickr

[Gérard-64]

Fantastic!
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www.picasaweb.google.fr/photentomo

http://portfotolio.net/77998274@N03

[DQE]

Such an unusual set of macro photographs, so skillfully created!

I have to confess that it took me some minutes to figure out where some of this jumper's major body parts were. The ant-mimics usually confuse me that way!

It was so delightful to be able to view and study the full size photos - I can't find words to express my delight at having access to them.

Thanks for creating and posting these most enjoyable works of photographic art and science.
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-Phil

"Diffraction never sleeps"

[Cactusdave]

Super pictures of an amazing spider. The sort of thing you associate with the tropics, not Sweden!
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Leitz Ortholux 1, Zeiss standard, Nikon Diaphot inverted, Canon photographic gear

[lauriek]

Outstanding set as usual John.

That first shot really makes me think of some sci-fi/alien/horror beastie from a film but I cannot for the life of me remember what film I'm thinking of!
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Flickr | www.laurieknight.net

[Walter Piorkowski]

Thanks for sharing your images John. The first is great. Using your identification and images to identify this subject is far superior than using the sketches in a book. Walt

[Harold Gough]

An absolute knockout set. That one with one red eye and one green eye is even more horrific.

Harold
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Happiness is having the right adapter.

My manual flash setup for high magnification:

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=117843#117843

[rjlittlefield]