Gold Cube Spider (Cropped Version) - _TNY_6473C
I have said this before about other spiders, but this is quite possibly the cutest little jumping spider I have ever come across. It's a baby Attulus terebratus (formerly Sitticus terebratus) which my wife found on the countertop in the kitchen and placed a shot glass over until I got there (thanks, honey!).
The background here is a little unusual. My son collects minerals and he had just gotten a sandstone (I assume) piece with pyrite (iron sulfide) crystals embedded in it - essentially shiny gold-coloured cubes. I took a "behind the scenes" shot with my phone of this one together with my finger for scale here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51993998172/ which shows the pyrite crystals better.
This was shot at 3.7:1 magnification using the Canon MP-E65mm lens - which has the added bonus of saving the magnification level in the EXIF info (which is how I know it was exactly 3.7:1). When knowing the magnification as well as the sensor size, it is possible to take measures in the photo using Photoshop's ruler tool and then throw the numbers into an equation (I describe it more here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50888392976/). Doing this revealed that the diameter of one the two larger eyes is less than 0.25 mm (less than 1/100th of an inch). Yes, I'm pretty pleased with this lens...
Here's the uncropped version of this shot (which made it into Explore): www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52086967644/
I also have another shot of this little dude (at 3.9:1) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51995215123/
Gold Cube Spider (Cropped Version) - _TNY_6473C
I have said this before about other spiders, but this is quite possibly the cutest little jumping spider I have ever come across. It's a baby Attulus terebratus (formerly Sitticus terebratus) which my wife found on the countertop in the kitchen and placed a shot glass over until I got there (thanks, honey!).
The background here is a little unusual. My son collects minerals and he had just gotten a sandstone (I assume) piece with pyrite (iron sulfide) crystals embedded in it - essentially shiny gold-coloured cubes. I took a "behind the scenes" shot with my phone of this one together with my finger for scale here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51993998172/ which shows the pyrite crystals better.
This was shot at 3.7:1 magnification using the Canon MP-E65mm lens - which has the added bonus of saving the magnification level in the EXIF info (which is how I know it was exactly 3.7:1). When knowing the magnification as well as the sensor size, it is possible to take measures in the photo using Photoshop's ruler tool and then throw the numbers into an equation (I describe it more here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50888392976/). Doing this revealed that the diameter of one the two larger eyes is less than 0.25 mm (less than 1/100th of an inch). Yes, I'm pretty pleased with this lens...
Here's the uncropped version of this shot (which made it into Explore): www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52086967644/
I also have another shot of this little dude (at 3.9:1) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51995215123/