Eight eyes reflected back at the camera, hairy chelicerae hiding fangs underneath, eight legs ready to move the creature at speed; I love photographing spiders. I recently bought a Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite as I wanted a dedicated macro flash unit. The Canon equivalent is about three times the price of the Yongnuo so I went for the cheaper, budget friendly option. I was worried about the quality of the unit before I bought it but I am so impressed with the function. I am now more determined to buy a better macro lens to replace my kit lens Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM so I can take my macrophotography to the next level. I took some test shots with the macro light at home to understand how it works. I mainly kept it on TTL (through the lens). I also loved the two small LED lights on the front of the ring to help focus at night. After those shots around the garden I was ready to head to Red Hill Nature Reserve for some more night-time shooting. I went to a slightly different location than last time to see what I could find. I again thoroughly enjoyed myself and I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
The night sky peaking through the trees on Red Hill, I still have not mastered astrophotography
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 3200, 18mm, f/11 and 20.0 SEC])
As I said in the introduction, I wanted to take some shots around my house first to get to understand the macro light system. I knew where these was a Leaf-curling Spider (Phonognatha graeffei) so I started there. I arrived just in time to see a European Wasp (Vespula germanica) hovering near the web, before it appeared to charge into the net. The spider seemed to move but then backed away. I was not sure what was happening, whether the wasp was about to become food or whether the wasp was luring the spider out of its leaf enclosure. After taking the picture below I quickly started to set up a tripod to catch all the action I was sure was about to unfold. By the time I was ready with my tripod, after a rapid adjusting, the wasp had gone, while the spider was backed right up in its leaf. I looked up the behaviour on Canberra Nature Map, finding two cases where European Wasps had stolen food from a spider’s web. I think that is what happened in this case given the wasp looks like it has its legs wrapped around something in the web.
A European Wasp in the net of a Leaf-curling Spider - the wasp may have been trying to steal the food in the web
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 55mm, f/9.0 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Outside our back shed there was a little cluster of webs on a dead plant. These webs belonged to a group of Social House Spiders (Philoponella congregabilis). These were tiny spiders, just a few millimetres in size.
A Social House Spider in a web with several comaptriots
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 200, 55mm, f/11 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
There were two of these female Wingless Soldier Flies (Boreoides subulatus) on the wall. The male of the species have wings while the females do not, a strange evolutionary development. These two insects were still on the wall, not moving up or down. Even when photographing the one in the picture it did not move. These insects are apparently not well studied. The adults may only have a single function, to breed. They appear in autumn, so this time of the year. The larvae stage tend to be around rotting vegetation.
A female Wingless Soldier Fly on a drainpipe
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 400, 37mm, f/8.0 and 1/125 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Turning now to what I saw on Red Hill. I went to a different part of the hill but this time paid more attention to the tiny diamond-like reflections coming from the ground. I saw one, which I diligently followed, when it disappeared without any movement. I was not sure what had happened then I noticed a small flap in the dirt, which was covered with leaf little. Inside was a Wolf Spider. The spider seemed not to like my attention but did come out in a successful attempt to catch an ant. It came way out of the flap. Walked after the ant before springing on it. It then took the any back inside the flap.
A Wolf Spider staying hidden in its silken hole
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
I also came across several Tasmanicosa Wolf Spiders (Tasmanicosa spp). They all appeared to be females as they did not have the male palps on the front. The first one I photographed was on top of a low, dirt berm along the side of the overflow creek. The spider did not seem to object to my presence, patiently staying in one spot while I photographed it from several angles.
The next spider down was in a hole where two rocks joined. I was a little disconcerted when I put my hand near the hole opening to move some inconvenient vegetation prompting the spider to come out of its hole towards my hand. I was a little surprised but quickly recovered as I realised the spider was in a better spot to photograph.
The final spider appeared to have taken up residence in a Trap Door Spider tunnel, which I guess had been abandoned by its builder. The spider did not come out, nor did it shut the trap door, hence why I suspect it was not a Trapdoor Spider. It may have been the burrow of this spider as well, I am not completely confident.
A patient female Tasmanicosa Wolf Spider out in the open not bothered by my flash
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
A female Tasmanicosa Wolf Spider emerging from its burrow
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
A Tasmanicosa Wolf Spider using a possible abandoned Trap Door Spider tunnel for its hole
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Walking along, my attention was drawn to a yellowish, brown oval spinning on the end of a silk thread which seemed to be attached to some bark. The oval made its way back to the bark where I saw it was a female Jovial Jumping Spider (Ocrisiona jovialis) with a cockroach. (The white hairy palps show this is a female.) The spider stayed on the bark for a while, gripping the cockroach. I looked away to set-up my tripod and the spider, with its meal, had disappeared. I assumed the spider had caught the cockroach, which had tried to escape by jumping from the bark but the spider had attached a silk line to the bark, allowing it to pull itself and the cockroach back to the bark. Looking at the relative sizes it was clear how strong the spider was. These spiders have great eyesight and are very fast.
A female Jovial Jumping Spider with a recently caught cockroach
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Just around from where the jumping spider was, there was a tiny Common Hadrotarsine. Indeed it was so small, even with magnifying the image in the live view, I was not sure what it was. I was worried it may have just been a drop of water or sap. It was not until I was able to crop-in on the computer I realised it was a spider.
A Common Hadrotarsine doing a good job of blending into the bark
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Walking out of the patch of woodland, where I had seen most of the spiders, I was passing a log that had been burnt out a long time ago. A crescent of light colour on the dark surface attracted my attention. There was a Marbled Gecko (Christinus marmoratus) on the inside, apparently looking for food in the log. It allowed me to take a few photographs but when I moved the camera closer it crawled behind the leaf litter on the left of the photograph. These are common lizards in Canberra, with autumn being their breeding season.
A Marbled Gecko in a burnt out log
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS STM [ISO 250, 55mm, f/6.3 and 1/200 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)