Photography on Towards Freedom

Citizens of the House

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 21:28:42 -0800

Our neighbors are always in our house!

Slug with snail friend

One of our two rescued leopard slugs together with its snail friend. The snail in particular spends a great deal of time investigating the slug with its lower pair of tentacles.

Both of them now seem to be in very good health and will be released into our woodpile as soon as the weather warms up. It will be interesting to see if they remain together!

Indoor jumping spider #1

More info on this remarkable spider coming soon!

Indoor jumping spider #1 exploring

The explorer at work on my hand.

Indoor jumping spider #2

This spider, like #1, probably came inside sometime late last summer. During the afternoon, she patrols the walls and ceilings of the living room and kitchen staring intently at all who pass beneath.

Indoor jumping spider #2 posturing

The meaning of this posture is unclear. Could it be part of a cleaning routine? Or perhaps an effort to hide from the camera? Maybe even a salute?

5-legged spider

More info on this highly productive spider coming soon!

5-legged spider’s offspring

One of the later batches of the 5-legged spider’s young, this little critter is less than 2mm in body length.

A portrait of our rescued wasp

More info on the wasp coming soon. This shot was taken before I had a set of extension tubes for the Sony mount. A set of Pentax M42 mount tubes were handheld behind a reversed 28mm lens.

Citizens of the Yard Part2

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:32:20 -0800

… and they are still there!!

Undescribed sheetweb spider (Linyphantes sp.)

This is a tiny (a little over 2mm in body length) sheetweb spider in the genus Linyphantes. Like many sheetweb spiders, her species builds small, flat webs in leaf litter, under moss, and in other damp locations. As of yet, her species has not been formally described.

She, along with many of the other spiders in this gallery, was kindly identified by Rod Crawford, curator of arachnids at The Burke Museum.

More photos of her on BugGuide.

Snail & springtail

A cute little snail and springtail meeting on a fallen leaf.

Snout mite (family Bdellidae)

Few mites are willing to sit still for a photoshoot, so I was grateful this one was patient enough to let me get a fairly deep focus stack. Snout mites are predatory, feeding on springtails and other small arthropods.

Greater Night-stalking Tiger Beetle (Omus dejeanii)

This large beetle was hiding in our woodpile during the winter.

More shots of him on BugGuide.

Little springtail (Sminthurinus henshawi)

Another cute little springtail, just over half a millimetre in length.

More shots of it on BugGuide.

Tiny dwarf spider (Tachygyna vancouverana)

Another tiny spider, less than 1.5mm long. I rescued her from a shallow puddle where the surface tension was too strong for her minute legs to break free from. Here, she’s exploring the tip of my index finger.

More shots of her on BugGuide.

The Pseudoscorpion King

I’m always on the lookout for pseudoscorpions, but for some reason they’re incredibly scarce here. This guy was found on the wall of one of our rabbit houses, picking his way through spider webbing. He was very cooperative, holding this pose for almost ten minutes.

Pseudoscorpions tend to be harder to identify than spiders, requiring, among other things, examination of the distribution of microscopic hairs on various parts of their bodies. Nevertheless, after much photographic effort (and patience on his part), I’m fairly sure he is a male Chelifer cancroides, a common and widely distributed species.

More shots on this BugGuide.

Wolf spider (Alopecosa kochi)

A friendly, mid-sized wolf spider.

More shots of him on BugGuide.

Callobius severus

Callobius severus is a common spider in the Pacific Northwest, typically found in wooded habitats. They do well near human habitation too and are plentiful near the house. This gigantic female had a web behind a piece of wood on our side deck.

More shots of her on BugGuide.

Robber fly (Eudioctria sp.)

This is the first robber fly I’ve had any luck photographing. Very colorful eyes! Robbers are predatory flies, snatching just about anything they can overpower out of the air.

More shots on BugGuide.

Carapace of a ghost spider (Anyphaena pacifica)

The elegant carapace of a young male ghost spider.

Woodlouse Hunter (Dysdera crocata)

Moderately large, tubular spiders, Woodlouse Hunters live under logs, bark and similar damp places where their preferred woodlouse prey is likely to be. Dysdera crocata is the only species of its family in North America where it’s easily identified by its impressive jaws and fangs.

Sheetweb spider (Linyphantes victoria)

L. victoria is one of the most common sheetweb spiders in the yard. They vary so much in coloration that you really can’t recognize them based on appearance alone.

Another L. victoria on BugGuide that is much darker.

Female Cybaeus eutypus

Members of the genus Cybaeus are common ground-dwelling spiders in forests of the Pacific Northwest, living under rocks, logs, and in other damp places. Many sport elaborate patterns on their carapaces and abdomens.

Elongate-bodied springtail (Isotomurus palustris)

Another type of springtail. These ones are pretty fast runners.

Small orangy springtail

This colorful species is common in our area and may be undescribed.

More images on BugGuide.

Giant House Spider (Eratigena duellica)

This gentle giant was out on a nighttime stroll in the rabbit enclosure. Giant House Spiders are fairly common funnel weavers in the Pacific Northwest (also in Europe), and are among the largest spiders in Canada.

More shots of her on BugGuide.

And also a big male of the same species.

Small jumping spider (Neon reticulatus)

While most jumping spiders happily roam in broad daylight, members of the genus Neon prefer the cover of darkness, hiding in long grass and leaf litter. Their eyes are quite large for their size to help them see in their dimly lit habitats.

More shots of this male on BugGuide.

Dwarf spider (Mermessus trilobatus)

A cute little dwarf spider, about 2mm long.

Little pseudoscorpion (Apochthonius sp.)

Here’s a tiny pseudoscorpion I found while sifting forest litter. It’s a little over a millimetre long. I don’t have the equipment to get clear shots of stuff this tiny, but from the images I did take I suspect it is in the genus Apochthonius.

More shots on BugGuide.

Large folding-door spider (Antrodiaetus pacificus)

These impressive spiders make silk-lined tunnels in loose soil and debris, coming up to the entrance at night to wait for prey. They are mygalomorphs, more closely related to tarantulas than most commonly noticed spiders.

Damselfly

This battered old damselfly landed on my leg while I was trying to photograph a jumping spider. After a brief rest, it took off into the bushes.

Cobweb spider (Platnickina tincta)

P. tincta is very common in the yard. This male somehow wound up indoors, which is unusual for one of them.

More shots of him on .

Wolf spider mother and young (Pardosa vancouveri)

Wolf spider mothers go to great lengths to care for their young. Their egg sacs are made from several layers and kinds of silk, protecting the eggs from water, impacts, and other hazards. Once made, the mother will attach the sac to her spinnerets and carry it around wherever she goes. When the spiderlings emerge, they climb onto her back and secure themselves with silk. She continues to carry and protect them for some time before they eventually disperse.

Wolf spiders have very good vision and can be hard to photograph. Understandably, they’re especially suspicious of photographers looming overhead whilst carrying young. I approached this one very slowly. It took several minutes to convince her I wasn’t a threat and get close enough to photograph her.

Emerald mite

Here’s what happens when you point a camera at a barely visible speck racing around on a rotting log! This brilliant green mite in the family Eupodidae is only a third of a millimetre long.

Xysticus crab spider

Crab spiders in the genus Xysticus often have fancy abdomen patterns.

More shots of this large female on BugGuide.

Stone-like harvestman (Ortholasma pictipes)

Harvestmen in the family Nemastomatidae can be quite astonishing in appearance. O. pictipes has a hard exoskeleton with a stony texture along with a peculiar projection in front of the eyes.

More photos of this female on BugGuide.

Jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni)

This friendly jumping spider spent most of his photoshoot scampering around trying to investigate everything around him all at once. It wasn’t easy to convince him to face the camera. Not that it did much good when he did - he would often leap straight at the lens before I could shoot! Maybe he was trying to make friends with his reflection.

Jumpers have superb vision and are extremely curious. If you put your hand near them, they will often hop on for a chance to explore.

Members of the genus Phidippus are notable for their large size and bright, iridescent chelicerae (jaws). P. johnsoni have a red (sometimes orange) and black color scheme to mimic certain velvet ants. Velvet ants can deliver very painful stings, so it benefits the comparatively defenceless spiders to look like them to fool potential predators.

More shots of this fellow on BugGuide.

And a shot of his stunning chelicerae on Flickr.

Tiny globular springtail (Sminthurinus niger)

I found this minuscule springtail on the lid to our recycling can. Frans Janssens, a springtail expert who runs collembola.org, was able to identify her as Sminthurinus niger (from a photo of her rump, no less). The first verified record of the species from the Nearctic ecozone.

More shots of her on BugGuide.

Red dwarf spider (Walckenaeria auranticeps)

Although this spider was less than 3mm long, her bright red carapace and legs made her easy to spot against the green moss I found her in.

More shots of her on BugGuide.

Cobweb spider (Theridion sp.)

Spiders in the genus Theridion are usually small, with a distinct stripe down the middle of their abdomen.

Globular springtail (Dicyrtomina minuta forma saundersi)

A spectacularly patterned globular springtail!

Domestic house spider (Tegenaria domestica)

Domestic house spiders have become distributed all over the world thanks to human activities, frequently living in and around houses. They’re medium-sized, agile spiders that spin funnel-shaped webs in dark, undisturbed places.

Like many other species in their family, they’re covered in feathery hairs. I gently rubbed a few off this spider’s abdomen, which you can see along with other photos on his BugGuide page.

Ant-mimic ground spider (Micaria pulicaria)

Small spiders in the genus Micaria sometimes look like ants, but this male wasn’t fooling anyone!

More shots of him (and a link to a female) on BugGuide.

Fruit fly (genus Paracantha)

I found this picturesque fly perched on a thistle plant. It didn’t seem to mind me hovering around with the camera.

Feeding time!

It seems that when I’d rather they not, mosquitoes will gleefully oblige themselves and steal a belly full of blood anyway. Yet when I encourage them to “bite” for a photograph, they just hover around pretending they’re not interested! I had to sit in the middle of a cloud of over twenty mosquitoes before this one finally decided to try for a meal. Interestingly, when I let a mosquito take as much blood as it wants, the area around the bite rarely itches or swells.

Citizens of the Yard Part1

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:32:14 -0800

Our neighbors live in our yard!

Woodlouse (possibly Philoscia muscorum?)

Many, many of these and similar woodlice come out at night and munch on decaying vegetation. Interestingly, woodlice are crustaceans, belonging to the same class as crabs and shrimp.

Phidippus clarus female

Unfortunately I inadvertently disturbed this spider outside while working outside. The white fluff she’s on is her home which resembles a “sleeping bag” of silk. After a couple of shots, she and her home were relocated to a safe place.

Winter cutworm

The larvae of the Large Yellow Underwing moth (Noctua pronuba), winter cutworms are a common sight here during the colder months. They come out to feed whenever there is a warm spell. This one was fairly large at 6cm or so in length.

Taken using a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

Fly’s head

This fly was inadvertently disturbed when we had to move the plastic sheet it was hiding in. It was pretty calm and stayed still long enough to get this composite shot, focus stacked from 15 individual images.

Portrait of a male wolf spider

Somehow, this poor fellow got himself stranded in the house. He was very friendly and after I picked him up, he hung out on my hand for a while, even going through his cleaning routine there. Once released, he began scooting around every which way with great enthusiasm, stopping only occasionally. I was lucky he paused long enough for me to get this stack of 3 shots.

Weevil

Shortly before it was time to leave home for my piano lesson, I stumbled upon this weevil indoors. It may have found its way in on the fur of one of the cats or dog. As I didn’t have much time, I hurriedly scooped it up with a leaf, took a couple of shots, and then released it outside.

Unidentified jumping spider on a blackberry stem

This jumping spider is exploring.

Callobius severus male

One of the larger males I’ve seen so far, this fellow was climbing up the side of our chimney, probably searching for a mate. The males can often be seen wandering about, poking into crevices here and there where a female might be likely to make a home.

He’s missing a palp - perhaps from a conflict with another male?

The Arachmage

As with humans, true wizards and sorcerers are very difficult to find among spiderfolk. Needless to say, I was more than a little shocked to find this arachnid demonstrating his abilities by setting our compost ablaze.

Taken with a Pentax 55mm lens reversed on a full set of extension tubes if I recall.

Portrait of a female wolf spider

I found this ~8mm spider hanging around on our deck in the evening. As I’d been wanting to get a portrait of one of these spiders for some time, I offered her a red leaf which she obligingly crawled onto. After exploring it thoroughly, she found a comfortable spot and settled down in the above position for quite a while.

Focus stacked from four shots taken with a vintage Pentax 28mm lens reversed on a full set of extension tubes.

Carabid beetle with mite

These nocturnal beetles are all over the place as soon as winter’s chill passes. They trundle along quickly and purposefully, stopping here and there to investigate their surroundings. They’re particularly sensitive to the light I use to focus with and most run away when it gets too bright. This individual didn’t care too much though and sat still for the better part of a minute.

Curiously, many have a mite riding around near their head. I’ve never seen more than one at a time. I imagine the mites are just passengers along for the ride. Maybe they help keep the beetles clean?

Female Callobius severus, front

C. severus spiders are striking to behold. They are moderately large with body lengths of 2 cm or so and leg spans of up to 5 cm. Their cephalothorax and legs range in colour from dull pink to bright orange or even blood red. In the fall, males are easy to find along the side of the house as they search for mates. Females are harder to locate. They’re experts in the art of reclusivity, hiding out in the most inaccessible places they can manage, only coming out late at night.

Most are easily startled and will disappear into their dwellings in the blink of an eye at the first sign of trouble. Unusually, this spider wasn’t in the least bit concerned about my presence. She didn’t even mind when I nudged her onto a piece of wood for some shots. After I’d finished, I put her back where I found her and she leisurely continued about her business as if nothing had happened.

Focus stacked from 5 images I think.

Female Callobius severus, top

Same spider as in last picture.

Adult male Evarcha proszynskii jumping spider, front

I found this fellow on the back deck and nudged him into a glass so I could move him somewhere else to be photographed. As it happened, I snapped some shots while he was still in the glass. 5 of them were suitable for stacking and resulted in this image.

Once he got out, he didn’t seem very happy. He kept running around nervously, avoiding me when I got too close. I put him back where I found him quickly and he was fine after that.

Adult male Evarcha proszynskii jumping spider, top

Same spider as in last picture.

Another adult male Evarcha proszynskii

While working on clearing some wood to make way for our upcoming mini-farm, I noticed a familiar blob darting around on one of the pieces from some distance away. Sure enough, it was jumping spider. I’d been hoping to find another of this species, so I immediately set to work photographing him. His eyes were spectacular!

Focus stacked from 3 shots.

Cross orbweaver and morning glory vine

This wonderful spider with a very prominent cross on her back (distinctive of Araneus diatematus, the cross orbweavers) made a home around our deck. On occasion, one of the morning glory plants would make use of her threads if she wasn’t careful! The vine was gone the next night. Perhaps she removed it or snipped the thread?

Robust Lancetooth snail

Apparently this snail was reading the soggy remains of a newspaper in our woodpile…

Dung fly

I think this fly is a female of the genus Scathophaga. She was busy enough with her cleaning routines that she didn’t pay much attention to me or my equipment. These flies tend to be quite trusting, and if you approach slowly, they won’t mind being observed at all.

Face-to-face with a fly!

This small fly was taking shelter in the insulated house our outdoor rabbits have. Since it was late at night, the fly was inactive and barely seemed to take notice of me hovering around with the camera.

Focus stacked from 7 shots taken with a 28mm prime lens reversed on a full set of extension tubes. The stack didn’t turn out perfectly this time as you can see a few areas on the eyes that lack sharp focus.

Wood bug curled up

This large wood bug was found very near the beetle in DSC05413. I accidentally nudged the leaf it was on while trying to get a shot of the beetle, causing it to roll up into a very well-armoured ball. Due to this behaviour, another popular name for these crustaceans is “roly poly”.

Woodlouse with unidentified purple insect (?)

I didn’t notice the little insect on the woodlouse’s head until played back an enlarged version of the shot on my camera. Fascinated, I watched through the magnified view of my lens as the purple critter explored its ride, which didn’t seem to take any notice. Once satisfied, it dropped down and scuttled off at a surprising speed.

Face of a cross orbweaver

This female Araneus diadematus spider had just finished producing an egg sac and was wandering around on our deck. After a brief tour, she returned to guard the sac and remained there for a few days.

Male wolf spider

Around here, wolf spiders often endure the colder days of winter clinging to the side of the house. When the chill finally ends and the sun begins to warm the ground again, they positively leap down and start foraging as quickly as they possibly can. Even in early February, they are so numerous in parts of the yard that you have to watch your step!

This ~6-7mm male was pretty cooperative and didn’t mind me getting close with the camera. He just kept going, occasionally stopping for a brief rest.

The odd white patch on his right fang might be some kind of fungus, but I’m not sure.

Pentax 55mm reversed on a extension tubes.

Unidentified jumping spider

Another of those endearing jumping spiders!

Pellenes sp. jumping spider, front

A new species for me when I found it, this small (~4mm) jumping spider was extremely cooperative! It hopped as much as walked, but frequently stopped to take long looks at anything that moved. Focus stacked from about 4 shots.

Pellenes sp. jumping spider, top

Top view of the same spider in last picture.

Pellenes sp. jumper

Like the spider in the last picture, this one was pretty calm and cooperative. It wandered freely between a dandelion leaf I was trying to shoot it on and my hand, inevitably attempting to work its way up my sleeve when it got the chance. The blue background is actually the sky, which the spider and leaf were held up against for the shot.

Fly with pseudoscorpion

This shot came as a complete surprise. I didn’t notice the pseudoscorpion attached to the fly’s leg when I took it. According to Wikipedia, pseudoscorpions are known to hitch rides on insects - a very efficient means of travel for such tiny creatures! The fly didn’t seem disturbed by the presence of its passenger.

A springtail’s face

Despite possessing six legs, springtails are not insects. They are one of the most numerous macroscopic animals with densities of perhaps 100,000 per cubic metre of soil in many parts of the world! We rarely see them because they are so small.

Their name comes from a special “tail” folded beneath their abdomen. It is a two-pronged lever-like appendage that is kept under tension. When released, it can fling a springtail up to 15cm into the air – the equivalent of a human being jumping over the Eiffel Tower!

This individual was moderately large at a length of 2mm or so and was warming itself in the sun with several associates.

Focus stacked from 3 shots taken with a Pentax 28mm reversed on a full set of extension tubes.

Garden soldier fly (Exaireta spinigera)

Lots of these critters come out of our composts at various times of the year. After a few hours, they turn black and take flight. Could this be some kind of nymph stage or does it just take a while for their adult colouration to set in?

Female Phidippus borealis jumping spider

I regularly patrol the yard looking for these jumping spiders as they are very striking. They’re large, up to 2 cm in body length, and have bright red or orange markings on their abdomens. They also have colourful metallic fangs, a trait they share with many other Phidippus spiders.

Being as big as they are, it’s a fascinating experience to meet one face to face. When you look at them, you see a pair of calculating, intelligent eyes staring back at you. Some will be curious and come closer, even hopping onto you on occasion.

This one was casually ambling about near the house. I think she may have moulted recently because she was very clean and well groomed, with hardly a hair out of place.

Female Phidippus borealis jumping spider, close-up

Close-up of same spider as in last pic.

Young Arion slug feeding on a dandelion

While testing out a new macro setup, I happened upon this slug. It was very busy with its head buried deep inside the flower. These slugs are some of the most common here and will eat all sorts of stuff. Unlike most of the shots so far in this gallery, this was taken without flash, in shade on a sunny day.

Unidentified purple critter

The same kind of creature as in ‘IMGP8076’, this one was dancing on water that had collected in a planting pot. At a mere 1.5-2mm in length it was easily supported by the surface tension.

Yellowjacket queen

Our last snowfall was heavy and probably disturbed the hibernating places of many creatures. I suspect this yellowjacket queen was among those unfortunate enough to have been awakened prematurely. I found her huddled up against a pot out on our deck. It was very cold and she could barely move. Seeing as it was late in the evening and would only get colder at night, I decided to bring her in since she didn’t have a suitably cozy hiding spot. I kept her in the same room that our slugs live in which was cool enough that she wouldn’t get too active overnight.

By noon the next day, she had had quite enough of the container I was keeping her in and wanted out. Luckily, it was unexpectedly sunny and warm, so I thought there was a good chance she could find a new place to wait out the rest of the winter. After crawling around on my hand for a several minutes and snacking quickly on a piece of apple, she flew off.

Focus stacked from 7 shots taken with a 28mm prime lens reversed on a short extension tube.

Yellowjacket queen preparing to depart

The same queen as in last picture exploring my hand a few minutes before she took off.

Taken with a Pentax 55mm reversed on a couple of extension tubes.

A very colourful cross orbweaver

Another spectacular cross orbweaver!

Small cave cricket

I found this cute little insect under a board outside. It wasn’t nearly as skittish as some of its conspecifics and obligingly remained perched on the leaf for a couple of minutes.

Cave crickets are frequent visitors to our deck and eat just about anything they can find.

Globular springtail

Often when I’m photographing a subject, I’ll end up coming across many other interesting thing in the vicinity. In this case, I was shooting a Platycryptus californicus jumping spider when I noticed this springtail a few centimeters away, slowly making its way up a blade of grass.

Xysticus crab spider in the snow

Normally, you might not think of a frigid snowscape as a hospitable environment for little creatures to be out and about in. If you look closely, though, you may be surprised!

This 3-4mm crab spider was found foraging amongst the ice crystals on the surface. The temperature was slightly above freezing, so maybe it was just warm enough to permit activity.

It was by no means alone out there! Several other spiders were scurrying around, along with a few insects (or possibly springtails - I didn’t get a good look), pseudoscorpions, and even worms.

Focus stacked from two shots taken with a Pentax 28mm reversed on a full set of extension tubes.

Wet soldier fly (Exaireta spinigera)!

I found this fully mature soldier fly hanging out on the compost bin we keep near our garden. The water droplets acted here to further magnify parts of the eye!

Female trap-door spider

A rare sight above ground, adult female trap-door spiders around here normally spend most of their lives in their burrows. I don’t know what this one was up to, but she was wandering around out in the open. She wasn’t in any hurry and sat absolutely still for a few shots, this one focus stacked from 9 images.

Trap-door spiders are mygalomorphs and more closely related to tarantulas than many commonly known spiders like wolf spiders, orb weavers, and jumpers. Unlike the latter types, mygalomorphs have fangs which point straight down and don’t cross. Many can also live well over 10 years.

Little jumping spider

I have yet to find out exactly what this cute spider is. Perhaps a male Pellenes jumper? I found him out in the backyard. Like many jumping spiders, he was eager to explore and gladly hopped onto a red leaf I held out for him.

Hoverfly feeding on a dandelion

Hoverflies are extremely capable fliers, able to hold absolutely still in the air for extended periods or dart off in any direction of their choosing at a moment’s notice. I find them less skittish than some other flies. This one was particularly unconcerned and let me get quite close. Shot in natural light.

Citizens of the Deck

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 20:31:01 -0800

Our neighbors are always on our deck!

Nightly banquet

A common sight on summer nights, several slugs and other creatures made a habit out of turning up at very precise times. On the lower left is one slug by the questionable name of ‘BY’ who came to eat each night within five minutes of 9:50 PM. The routine continued for almost two weeks. On the upper left is a slug who looks a lot like BY named ‘BX’. BX was always more erratic and often skipped a day or two.

Leopard slug with earwigs

This leopard slug was another of the many slugs who visited the deck regularly during the summer. Its favourite thing to eat was moist cat food which it occasionally had to share with a few earwigs.

Cave cricket nibbling on a cherry

This cricket was a regular visitor to the deck for about a month. It often joined the slugs and was eager to sample just about anything they were eating except for greens.

Paper wasp nest

A distinctive feature of paper wasp construction is that the cells of their nests are exposed. This nest was built on the underside of a wooden table. The wasps kept so much to themselves that by the time we noticed, there were already several adults tending to it. Since they were already well established with more young on the way we let them remain.

During the day the adults were usually occupied with collecting food for their larvae. Occasionally they would stop off at a flower for a snack or for a drink at the cats’ water bowl.

Paper wasps are not known for being aggressive and these certainly were not. They didn’t even mind me routinely poking my head under the table to see what they were up to.

Though they appeared to be content, their colony never grew beyond seven or eight adults at a time until they finally abandoned their home with the onset of the cold weather.

Cave cricket dining with a slug

These two friends seem to be enjoying a communal meal.

Slender crab spider eating a piece of apple

When I first saw this, I had no idea there were spiders (besides Bagheera kiplingi) who would eat fruit of any kind. After some research, I learned that many spiders do in fact take nectar from flowers and have been known to eat various fruits in captivity.

I sometimes placed bits of apple out to attract wasps so I could watch them, and in this case the result was most unexpected. The spider had chosen to feed on a “crumb” of apple discarded by one of the wasps an hour or two earlier. It had browned, but there was still plenty of juice left for the spider apparently. She spent nearly half an hour feeding, maneuvering the crumb deftly with her palps.

Eager to see if others of the same species would do similar, I tried to feed them apples, grapes, and some other fruit. Several did indeed take them. I’ve observed and photographed wolf spiders as well as grass spiders eating fruit too.

Banana slug contemplating the cuisine

This banana slug is trying to determine the merits of this particular course, the underside of a blackberry leaf.

Male grass spider eating a piece of apple

This handsome fellow regularly made appearances on the deck, perhaps due to the existence of several females that made homes there. He only got to enjoy his apple for a couple of minutes before a wasp found him out and stole it.

Spider with banana slug

The spider probably came up for a drink but ended up making a new friend in the process. The slug, aside from being mildly put out by having a leg blocking one of its eye stalks, didn’t appear to mind the spider at all.

Leopard Slug Mating Ritual

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 14:57:28 -0800

Some of our neighbors engage in what may be considered ‘restricted’ activities!

Introduction

In May 2012, I spent a few hours photgraphing the mating ritual of two leopard slugs. Below are pictures and explanations. If you want meta data specifications about the picture, right click on it and select Image Properties.

The two individuals are the leader:

and the follower:

Phase One: Pursuit

When a leopard slug wishes to mate, it communicates the fact chemically through its slime trail to any others who might stumble across it. As simultaneous hermaphrodites (an individual is both male and female), they are not choosy about their partners. When another slug finds the trail it will, if it also feels like mating, follow. Once it catches up with the originator it nibbles on its tail to announce its presence and intentions. The nibbled, having been alerted, begins a search for a location few other slugs would ever venture to. Thus, at a rate of ten or perhaps fifteen centimetres per minute, one of the most extraordinary rituals to be found anywhere commences.

Both of these slugs are residents of our woodpile. I’d seen the leader (upper right) several times before. It is easily identifiable by its relative lack of spots. The follower was new to me. Having watched Sir David Attenborough’s BBC series “Life in the Undergrowth” where the mating ritual is shown, I immediately knew what was going on when I saw these two slugs behaving this way. I had my PowerShot camera and a light with me, but I knew the ritual could take several hours to complete. I rushed inside to stock up on batteries. When I emerged a few minutes later with full pockets, the slugs had moved all of a half metre or so. The leader was crawling along with great care, making sure to thoroughly examine everything it came into contact with along its path. Particular attention was paid to objects that seemed to project upward, however short they might be.

On occasion, the follower would lose the leader’s tail and become lost. Remarkably, when the leader noticed this happening, it would stop and hold its position to give the follower a chance to catch up again.

Once the leader felt another nibble on its tail, the quest would resume.

Unfortunately for the pair, nothing they came across in the woodpile seemed interesting enough to prompt them to move to the next stage of their ritual. It was even more distressing for me because I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to follow them too far!

They went straight into the forest beyond our fence. An overenthusiastic beetle got into the spirit of things and tried to latch onto the train here before remembering it wasn’t a slug.

I climbed over the fence and joined them in the forest. They continued to investigate everything that promised to go upwards with the exception of cedar trees. Perhaps they are uncomfortable to leopard slugs?

At last, after more than two and a half hours, they found a fallen alder branch that leaned against a cedar tree. The pair are not easy to spot in this shot. The leader is at the base of the branch and the follower is on the left of the frame.

Phase Two: Ascension

Nowhere to go but up! Phase two of the ritual kicked off.

They came to a fork in the branch and chose the path that took them still further up. By this time they had been climbing for about ten minutes.

When they discovered their branch lead into a cedar tree, they were less than pleased! They spent a long while circling around, trying to find a way to get past it, but there was none. They stayed there for the better part of an hour before they gave up. The leader headed downward again. I thought they might be ready to call the whole thing off, seeing as how they’d already spend nearly four hours searching for the right spot.

Phase Three: Entanglement

Just as I was starting to realize how sleepy I had become, the leader suddenly swung upwards again. It became apparent that while they hadn’t found exactly the place they were looking for, they weren’t about to give up either! Phase three began in what must have been an awkward spot.

The two coiled around one another like snakes and loosened their grip on the branch.

Then they let go altogether and slid into thin air, hanging by a rope of thick slime!

This is why the slugs had been looking for something to climb for so long. They mate aerially suspended and require a certain amount of height to do so. How they know how much is enough I have no clue! Ideally, they would probably have preferred a horizontal branch or other overhang to drop from. In its absence, they chose to make the most of the branch they had.

Phase Four: Unity

Having descended far enough (they were still a good metre and a half above the forest floor), they commenced phase four of the operation.

Each slug’s male reproductive organs are housed just behind their head on their right side. These are everted from their genital pore and snake downwards.

Like their bodies, they entwined their reproductive organs once fully extended.

These fanned out to form a blue, flower-like structure over an orb where the transfer of sperm took place. They remained in this posture for some nine minutes, spinning slowly on their thread.

Phase Five: Detachment

With phase four complete, the fifth and final phase started. Perhaps the most tricky task of all was disentanglement. Remarkably, they managed it in only a couple of minutes!

Now unwound, they retracted their genitals again. Their thoughts then turned to unravelling their bodies!

That task took several minutes. Once complete, the leader once again took up its position in front and hauled itself back up the slime rope.

It didn’t take long for the follower to latch on.

Safely back up in the tree, their four and a half hour long enterprise came to an end. Of course, each still had to find a safe place to lay eggs, but by that time I thought I had better turn in and said my farewell. That wasn’t the last I saw of them, though! The next day, the follower was happily sliming its way around the woodpile again. Two days after that, the leader turned up too. Evidently despite their great adventure (at least seven or eight metres of travelling), they still considered the woodpile their home. Perhaps some of the little leopard slugs we see next year will be theirs!