Saturday, November 17, 2012

Small Critters I Saw First Time!

I spent one morning last weekend looking for the very small living organisms on leaves and trunks. I am particularly looking for lady beetles. But it turned out that there's a lot of insects and spiders there that have long been hiding from me, so it seems. They are not actually hiding, I just did not particularly spend time watching them. This time I was able to observe the other world these creatures occupy. I have been living in the farm since birth, and yet I only know the obvious. Those smaller than 1.0cm are unknown to me. It was amazing as this world unfolded in my eyes. I ended up following wherever they went, because i need to get their pictures, even if we have not been formally introduced. Therefore, i really don't know yet their names.

 The owner of this house is so shy it suddenly hide into the sanctity of the branches and leaves. It is so high on the tree that i cannot look for him. I don't even know how he looks like. But at least i took the photo of its house, and I really love it twinkling against the morning sky.

 This organism looks bizarre, at least to me. I wonder if the rest of the population in their world thinks like me too. It is hard and stuck itself on a dense lichen patch at the trunk of a citrus tree. I am awed at the openings of that concave structure, whether it is a house or the actual organism. I don't even know if it is abandoned or if it is already dead. Hopefully, i will be able to be informed of my dilemma.

This insect is also at the branch of the citrus, it is a flying insect but mostly stays on the branch. It is about 1cm in length up to the tip of its snout, whatever that thing is! I have been scrutinizing it with the macro lens, but it always go to the other side of the branch away from me. Eventually, it flew away, left me with nothing of particular significance! I guess it is associated with the oozing disease of citrus.

I am very sure this is a spider, LOL, of course it has 4 pairs of legs! Great, it is an arachnid, belonging to the family Arachnidae. Oh I am so knowledgeable about it, can you get my sarcasm? Farther from knowing it is a spider, i don't know anything about it. But it is cute! (Thanks Randy Emmitt for telling us this is a jumping spider)

 This one is a spider too, but this one gave me the longest time to decipher. Its form is a bit unusual for a spider. The head is bent as a flap parallel to its abdomen when resting. It can also glide through a string from its abdomen, where it attaches itself for protection when provoked. I actually provoked it to move so many times, but sometimes it just stopped with that folded body stance, maybe to mimic something for purpose that i will just leave it alone. Those very long legs covered its head, I am really so perplexed. I will still post this to the Arachnophiles forum for possible ID.

 Again, this is another spider, and it has beautiful artistic design. It is also very small in length. The nice thing is it is not attempting to hide from me, he just allowed me to take its photos. I read somewhere, that in other species the colors can be deceiving sometimes. A brightly colored one can be poisonous. But I will not be poisoned by this one, unless it projects some liquid trajectorially to its assumed predator. Lovely eh!


And the highlight of my morning is seeing this insect, maybe wasp, doing its best to kill this cricket that is bigger than him. I wish i had a video equipment to take the struggling predator and prey, it was very interesting! The predator did not leave its hold on the head until the prey is immovable and paralyzed. Then its problem now is to haul it to the safety of its sanctuary. He tried to pull it upside down, then push it on the other side, but still he can't move it. Actually it is heavy for him. So he waited, until maybe the prey is dead and doesn't cling to the leaf surface anymore. Then at that position he was able to move it away. When he reached the leafy portion of the plant he got lost from my sight. 

Camera Critters Meme

32 comments:

  1. Hello Andrea, awesome macro shots. I really love the web and the third shot down have lovely bokeh!

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    1. Yes Eileen, that web took me infinity to shoot! So thanks for appreciating.

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  2. Wow....just wow!!! What amazing photos. Excellent images ---seeing them up close and personal like this is just fabulous.

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    1. You are so kind Hootin Anni, and it is so difficult getting these shots, as these creatures don't cooperate much, haha!

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  3. Wow Andrea, You got some GREAT shots of those tiny critters... I'm sure there are LOTS of small creatures around us --and most of the time, unless they fly on us or in our faces, we don't notice them... Thanks for sharing.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. Yes Betsy, you are right, until i got a macro lens i didn't spend time looking for them. Then I realized there's a lot of life in our gardens.

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  4. Wow - magical macro shots!

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  5. Thank you for showing us this tiny world. I am in awe of your photography.

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  6. Beautiful pictures and the whole new world to explore!

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    1. Hi Klara, it is really amazing seeing them, it's like alien world.

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  7. Wow Andrea, your photography is superb!!

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    1. Is this Mark or Gaz, i guess Mark, LOL. Thanks for the visit, i wonder now what has happened to your big leaves.

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  8. Andrea,
    Your cute little spider is a Jumping Spider, the coolest little spiders. Most you can get them to jumb too.

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    1. Thanks so much Randy, my butterfly photographer idol, i will correct it later when i arrive in Manila. I googled and realized the jumping spiders is one of the biggest genera of spiders.

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  9. Well, Andrea, you're getting kudos for your macro shots, but no one (yet) can help with the IDs. Oops, Randy posted ahead of me... hahaha... I relate to your sitting in awe watching creatures do their thing.

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    1. Lol, yes Francisca it is amazing to watch them, tried doing it again today but so short time. I have to leave at 3pm for QC. I wish there is always a long weekend. I only got a few photos today.

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  10. Great closeup photos. You do good on them.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Cher, i a still so far from the quality of your photos!

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  11. It is amazing what we see when we slowly walk and look carefully. I began seeing more spiders and other insects which of course made me more curious...so when the spring comes again I will be looking for the first signs of little critters too...love those spiders.

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    1. During my every other weekend at home, since butterflies are all the same as i've seen before, i always look for the small creatures under the leaves and trunks, they are very good mimics too! I've found some more last weekend, thanks Donna for patronizing all my posts in both my blogs.

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  12. You have discovered the amazing world of insects and arachnids through your lens. The last photo of the little critter dragging its largesse home is both morbid and fascinating. It would be a great feast back in its digs.

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    1. That is surely like for their thanksgiving feast! Maybe they will have early Christmas. My curiosity now strikes again, I wonder if that lone hunter will share the loot to its comrades!

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  13. You got some great shots, sadly I cannot help with identification. You must have great patience to find the shots you did.

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    1. Don't worry with the ID, they come from unexpected places, just like love is! LOL. Thanks again for your visit.

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  14. I've never once gone looking for the different types of spider in my garden....maybe I need to go exploring Andrea! Fabulous macros too and I just adore that first one of the web and that gorgeous bokeh.

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    1. Hi Rosie, i missed you! With your expertise and excellent photography skills, these critters will look so true to life, and if you do, I will again have difficulty looking at how mine would be like them.

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  15. Isn't it amazing, when you think about it, Andrea, to feel linked across all those miles today by our joint postings about spiders and their webs! I'm glad Randy helped with the ID. I wonder when either (or both!!!) of us will see our next Ladybird!

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    1. Yes Caroline, it is amazing to be wherever in the world and yet connected, it is said "We Are One"! Have you heard of the experiment on shrimp in a tank. It is connected to electrical gadgets to know its reaction when a live egg is dropped to boiling water in another room. Do you know what happened to the shrimp? That only shows the connection of everyone in terms of energy, and i guess our ladybird connection tuned us into the same channel, hahaha! I think i have my next ladybird but havn't posted it, i will tell you! Thanks Caroline.

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  16. Your macros are stunning!!! Super excellent work. Those are some tiny bugs. I especially love the spider web:)

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  17. Andrea, you got some great captures!! The spider with his legs over his head is so funny! I have never heard of anything like it!!

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Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

However, Anonymous comments and personal back links give me problems, so i don't publish them. Anonymous + back links = SPAM = DELETE

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