Spider with interesting pedipalps

[Bruce Williams]

Here's the male A. similis I found today (19 Feb):



Hmmm.....well, although you cant make out the thin hooked apophysis in this pic, I think it's likely to be the same species as it was in one of the other adjacent tunnels - and there's virtually nothing else about (except a couple of stretch spiders).

Bruce

[Dogghound]

Definately A.similis, if you look carefully you can actually see the apophysis.

[Bruce Williams]

Thanks Dan - Yes I can just make one of them out .

Bruce

[Barjon]

No problem, I believe in giving credit where it's due. I've never looked at a spider so closely before, they are quite mesmerizing images. How much money do you need to spend on equipment before you can start producing images of that calibre?

Speaking of credit - Dogghound deserves some for giving such accurate advice.

They should make new rankings on this website:

Photographer and Advisor of the Wild Empire.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Barjon

Speaking of credit - Dogghound deserves some for giving such accurate advice.

When the photo's are as good as Bruce's it is an absolute pleasure. You dont get many photo's where you can identify a spider from its palps, its usually a microscope job. I always enjoy Bruce's images especially in winter it keeps the invertebrate section ticking over.

[Bruce Williams]

Barjon - It's quite possible to take good close-up shots of insects and spiders with a good prosumer camera costing around £250. Why don't you post a new thread in our photography equipment forum and I'm certain you'll get a lot of helpful advice from our members.

Dan - That's very kind of you and most encouraging too. For my part expert information such as your on the identity and behaviour of my photographic subjects adds immensely to my enjoyment.

Bruce

[Barjon]

That's reasonable then. I'm not sure i'll get into professional photography myself though because i know it's quite technical and i'm not really a technical person. I would like to have a go, but if i bought a really nice camera i'd feel stressed worrying about breaking it, and it may get left in a corner and not used properly. But it's great to see such images from other people. I'm considering getting a simple digital silver camera which will at least be a bit better than my phone and won't take too much looking after.