I noticed some intense lightning when I was coming home from class tonight. I live a distance from the university, but thankfully in the direction of the storm & my camera. I ended up driving further south to follow the storm in an effort to get parallel. It was unfortunately very far off the coast by the time I arrived at the beach.
Not what I had hoped for, but it’s something.
Another jumping spider, but this creepy little guy was running around with some kind of tiny insect that it caught. Jumping spiders hunt their prey similar to a cat. When shooting macro I try and find colorful plants and will typically find jumpers in close proximity waiting for a meal. They have 8 eyes and very good vision. The large eyes are adapted for dim light. They also have eyes that permit three-dimensional vision for purposes of estimating the range, direction, and nature of potential prey, permitting the spider to direct its attacking leaps with great precision.
On many occasions these spiders will jump into my camera lens to try and scare me off. Never works…
Also this particular spider kept running away from me as if I was going to take it’s meal. I have seen them with prey at other times, but they usually abandon it. Must have been a hell of a meal.
This is severely cropped from 1:1 macro manification. I didn’t notice the legs until I took a photo and zooomed in on the LCD.
Adult ensign scales have six dark coloured legs, a pair of dark antennae and stalked eyes. The apex of the antennae have thick terminal bristly setae. There are several abdominal spiracles and an anal ring on the dermal surface, with pores and setae. The upper surface of the body is covered in a thick waxy secretion giving it a decorated, fluted appearance.
Ensign scales are found on a wide range of host plants including mosses, grasses, small herbaceous plants, woody shrubs and even fungi.
This tree frog couldn’t have been more than an inch in length and was hiding under a palm fran.
Taken at Okeeheelee Park
Our Creator's Canvas 