Last week I did a posting entitled “Kleptoparasitic Spider“ that talked of the little spiders that hang around a larger spider’s web and steal or feed on the prey captured by the other spider. Today I managed to take a much clearer shot of one such spider. I am pretty sure the little spider below is of the genus Argyrodes, which are also known as dewdrop spiders.
The spider was positioned in such a way that I was able to get close enough to use my 100mm macro lens, although there was not really enough room for me to shoot with a tripod. I was able to close down only to F10 because I was shooting handheld and wanted to have a shutter speed of 1/200 sec, so depth of field suffered a little. I have found that depth of field is a problem with spiders most of the time because of the length and positioning of their legs.
This spider was really tiny and I am happy that I was able to get this good a photo of it. The portions of the web that are visible help to add an interesting geometric pattern to the background, which I think enhances the image.
Dewdrop spider (genus Agyrodes)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 