I gasped when I spotted this spider on the margaret blossoms in the garden!
Spring has finally if reluctantly, sprung and I was out searching the garden for spiders and other interesting things to shoot. I had spotted a different jumping spider on the wall and was trying to find it again, when a small movement caught my eye.
Wow! Such a wonderful spider and on a beautiful pink and purple background!
She was standing out in the open on the margarets which even better, were in a hanging basket making shooting a great deal easier!
Often I find spiders that are in awkward or difficult positions to photograph. I can only contort my body so much!
Note: this image is not displaying properly in the preview. If it appears cut in half, please click the photo to see the full image.
A bit closer:
Jumping spiders are by necessity very observant and will often look directly at the camera.
They either notice the movement or perhaps even notice their reflection in the glass of the lens. I'm pretty sure they don't recognize themselves but rather see a rival spider. You can even get the males to do their dominance display by putting a mirror in front of them!
No such chance with this spider, it's female. The males have much bolder colour patterns, this species' (I think it's Evarcha arcuata) males have dark black faces and bodies with large forelegs. It's quite striking!
I was surprised upon reviewing my photos for post-processing when I spotted the spider hiding among the blossoms in an earlier photo I took, just of the flowers before I had spotted it.
Can you find her?:
She is peeking out from under a petal in the mid-right of the photo!
Truly a great and fortunate find on this day!
I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!
Have a great day!