Finally (Twice), Pt. 2 - _TNY_3908
I've complained several times here when posting shots of juvenile raft spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) that I never seem to find any adult specimens.
Well, on Midsummer's eve (as in during the day before Midsummer's Day), me and my wife and son had a picnic by lake Långsjön in the Paradiset nature reserve on a very hot day. After eating, my son spotted a, as he put it, "very big boi" down by the waterline.
It turned out to be a male raft spider, not quite fully grown, but still a large spider.
Unfortunately for Mr. Raft here, he had been in some sort of altercation and was getting by on just six legs. He tried running away from us on the water, but there the lack of two legs really hurt him and he was making very poor speed so I put him back on the ground.
My wife snapped a photo of me shooting the spider from the water here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53000746833/ and as you can see, while concentrating to nail focus - I completely forgot not to make a silly face.
A little while after this, another, larger, male raft spider came walking over my wife so I managed to get a couple of shots of that one as well which will follow later on.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52999671762/
Finally (Twice), Pt. 2 - _TNY_3908
I've complained several times here when posting shots of juvenile raft spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) that I never seem to find any adult specimens.
Well, on Midsummer's eve (as in during the day before Midsummer's Day), me and my wife and son had a picnic by lake Långsjön in the Paradiset nature reserve on a very hot day. After eating, my son spotted a, as he put it, "very big boi" down by the waterline.
It turned out to be a male raft spider, not quite fully grown, but still a large spider.
Unfortunately for Mr. Raft here, he had been in some sort of altercation and was getting by on just six legs. He tried running away from us on the water, but there the lack of two legs really hurt him and he was making very poor speed so I put him back on the ground.
My wife snapped a photo of me shooting the spider from the water here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53000746833/ and as you can see, while concentrating to nail focus - I completely forgot not to make a silly face.
A little while after this, another, larger, male raft spider came walking over my wife so I managed to get a couple of shots of that one as well which will follow later on.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52999671762/