Colorful orchard spider probably Leucauge venusta

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

zzffnn
Posts: 1896
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 1:25 pm
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Post by zzffnn »

Thank you, AlxndrBrg, Dave and anvancy! You are too kind.

jeremylavine
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat May 18, 2019 7:13 am
Location: Washington, DC

Post by jeremylavine »

I'm just seeing this discussion browsing the nature image shares after I've made my own post with a few images including one of this spider species.
I've seen a bunch of these spiders in the parks around where I live in Washington, DC.
I have to second the difficulty in getting both head and abdomen in focus. Even when you get the abdomen in focus, it can sometimes not seem that way in certain lighting conditions due to its translucent nature.
You've captured the surface texture of the abdomen very well. Excellent work!
Here are my own images:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/d9WH3EupQ92zG5pD8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/MWwFH91afCpTXr557

zzffnn
Posts: 1896
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 1:25 pm
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Post by zzffnn »

Thank you, Jeremy.

Your orchard spider looks more green than mine, could be due to different location and timing?

I used around f/22 on micro four thirds sensor to photograph my spider, I think. Most people won't close down aperture that much.

I also accidentally knocked my spider off its web and chased it around for 1.5 hrs! It must be a stressful experience for that poor spider. I won't do that again.

jeremylavine
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat May 18, 2019 7:13 am
Location: Washington, DC

Post by jeremylavine »

Yes, all the spiders of this species I see in parks around me are quite green. I also haven't seen any with distinct edges on the colored scales, or what appear to be scales, that you have in your photos. The green, yellow, and black bits in the ones I've seen all appear as blurred splotches, often with a sort of glowing translucence especially in the yellow bits. At first I thought I just wasn't getting it in focus, but the colored bits of the abdomen are still blurred even in the photos I got where the flash bounce off the abdomen surface is clearly in focus.

Here are most of the pictures I've captured, both with flash and natural light, in full resolution:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LBDtZLT5mN7bReGm8

Image

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic