Since my life has been little else but one collossal dissapointment after another of late (as those of you who know me with any depth will know) I decided to go out and enjoy my day in any way I could. 

I went for a walk in the warming, soothing sunshine to look for spiders or anything really that I could photograph and little did I know what I would come home with.

I walked into a dry, undeveloped patch of land and found long, mostly dry grass peppered with stinging nettles and wildflowers. I heard the welcoming chirruping of grasshoppers. I figured since I haven't seen hoppers in this country in so long I might as well catch a few.

As I was stalking through the grass I noticed these odd little tents:

and I wondered who made them, they seemed oddly familiar, I couldn't work out what I was missing.

I found some tiny hatchlings in them, I got exited but it wasn't until I spotted an adult that it dawned on me.

Nursery web spiders! So many of them! This place was a haven for the creatures! They were as common as mud here!

I noticed spiders were abundant in this little patch of land, as I walked along wolf spiders (I only noticed Pardosa sp) would scoot out from under my feet and deep into the thick netting of plant roots, most, if not all, were carrying eggsacs. 

I kneeled down and noticed two tiny little assassin bugs, I never knew we got them here, one was eating a swolen spittle bug, sadly I lost that one, it would have made an amazing photograph. Here's the one I did keep around just long enough to photograph:

I got it to bite me, I wanted to see what these little guys were capable of, a nippy burning sensation, a red dot and surrounding redness, mild swelling, impressive, they're only a centimetre long! Pity they are so rare, though.

I played with some lady birds too, just because I could.

Then I cought some hoppers and I present to you my findings!

Next I found a small crab spider who shortly after consuming her mate was more than happy to take the fight to me, too, she postured and nipped and generally didn't know really what to do with me.

After this the heat began to get to me, so I wandered over to the shade of some tall trees and found some delicate flowers shivering gently in the breeze, I saw many flying bugs but none really interested me, however I saw a wasp feeding and it was kind enough not to panic while I took it's photograph.

I also saw a rather cute fly:

Some spiders webbed near by though they were rather common:

Heh and I found a spider with a little velvet mite parasite how seemed to value her eggsac more than her life:

Once I figured I had spent this area (and quite fatigued from the heat) I began to meander along towards the road again when something shot out of the grass. Without really thinking I reached out and grabbed it and I can't really remember the moment, it happened so fast, but I'm glad I did... here is what I caught:

Gorgeous isn't it?

So yes, all my life I've been training to catch small fast delicate things, and I'm good at it, but this is my crowning acheivement, a creature of such beauty is rare, and truly amazing, so I say to you, bug hobby:

I WIN! :D

Tags: Bug Insect Spider Invertebrate Hunting Capture

Bookmark: