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Beebalm Danger WC#573

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted February 28, 201397 views7 comments

Spotted beebalm, also called horsemint, flowers with a crab - or flower - spider. I was taking wildflower photos and did not notice this spider until I looked through the viewfinder. I checked again a while after taking this image and the spider had caught a little bee or fly.

Canon 300D (Digital Rebel), EF100mm F/2.8 macro lens, ISO 800, 1/125 sec, F/8 Aperture-priority Exp. Comp -1/3

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on March 1, 2013 at 1:16 AM

Paul ..thats a ncie find, and the flower is a subject by itself. The palette is fantastic. The hairs of the flower and spider seems to match. The right of the frame seems to be a bit empty or unbalanced..but thats a small nit..

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 1, 2013 at 11:54 AM

I've seen these critters sucking on butterflies 3 or 4 times their size. It's also pretty amazing how well they blend in at times, like you've got here, and at other times they're totally the wrong color. It's really neat here how well it blends with the arching lips of the beebalm.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on March 1, 2013 at 12:58 PM

I love the soft and subtle colors in this photo. The spider is really well placed in the frame, and on the plant to ambush unsuspecting prey. The detailed hair and other features are fantastic in the large version too. Very nice Paul.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on March 1, 2013 at 6:24 PM

You have shown the versatility of this crab spider that oriented herself to match the color of herself with the background. Well done.......Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on March 1, 2013 at 9:13 PM

Good post for this challenge! That spider blends in perfectly

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on March 2, 2013 at 1:06 PM

Those little crab spiders are so fascinating to observe. They usually blend in so well with the flowers they are on and catch many insects who are unaware of their presence. He blends in very well with the center of the flower--was hard to find at first! That's a very interesting flower he is on too. Nice capture, Paul and great entry for the theme.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Apodaca on March 2, 2013 at 9:01 PM

I like this a lot. Don't think I would have spotted that spider!

Registered on November 16, 2011, 67 Posts, 1127 Comments