Smile for the camera
July 17, 2009 3:53 AM Subscribe
North American Insects and Spiders - 7000+ close-ups of wolf spiders, black widows, honeybees, a ladybug eating an aphid, gulf fritillary butterflies, praying mantises, and much, much more
(Seriously, though, nice photos! Nice, horrifying, mind-scarring photos.)
posted by teresci at 4:33 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by teresci at 4:33 AM on July 17, 2009
Wow - that ladybug is really chowing down. I never thought insects could eat with gusto!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:46 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by Salvor Hardin at 4:46 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Those spider pictures are *beautiful*!
posted by the dief at 4:51 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by the dief at 4:51 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
Nice. I like the handful of fungi photos as well. It's so much fun to jump on giant puffballs.
WikiMedia Commons has some nice stuff too.
posted by XMLicious at 4:53 AM on July 17, 2009
WikiMedia Commons has some nice stuff too.
posted by XMLicious at 4:53 AM on July 17, 2009
These are actually really nice images, thanks.
Now, if you'll please excuse me while I go scratch my skin off.
posted by like_neon at 4:56 AM on July 17, 2009
Now, if you'll please excuse me while I go scratch my skin off.
posted by like_neon at 4:56 AM on July 17, 2009
Those wolf spider pics are great but I would not want to poke my camera in that close to those guys. Maybe if I were wearing a beekeeper's suit underneath a suit of armor.
posted by starman at 5:22 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by starman at 5:22 AM on July 17, 2009
Mmmmmm, protein.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:37 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:37 AM on July 17, 2009
Said another way....close-up pictures of things I'd kill if I saw them in my house (or in my general line of sight, really).
posted by brandman at 5:41 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by brandman at 5:41 AM on July 17, 2009
Not even going to click on that...I don't do close-ups of insects, spiders or bugs in general. I will let them live outside if they're not in my way, but you gotta be one fucking brave spider to cross the threshold of my home- I will kill you without exception.
posted by PuppyCat at 5:45 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by PuppyCat at 5:45 AM on July 17, 2009
Those are seriously awesome. They look so beautiful, and so horrifying. It's weirdly intimate.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:46 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:46 AM on July 17, 2009
I heart lady bugs!!! Such a kick ass insect.
posted by Mastercheddaar at 6:04 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Mastercheddaar at 6:04 AM on July 17, 2009
Is it just me, or has internet porn become really weird?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:18 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:18 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Even a jacked-up, diabeetus-ridden Wilford Brimley couldn't force me to click on ANYthing in this post. And God knows he's tried before. Interesting story, really.
posted by schleppo at 6:29 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by schleppo at 6:29 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
Those are cool but for some reason I prefer this guy's photos.
posted by nimsey lou at 6:42 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by nimsey lou at 6:42 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
I've seen those somewhere before, nimsey. Were those an fpp at some point?
I love these, but I'm one of those odd people who actually likes insects, spiders, rats, slugs, sharks and snakes.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:36 AM on July 17, 2009
I love these, but I'm one of those odd people who actually likes insects, spiders, rats, slugs, sharks and snakes.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:36 AM on July 17, 2009
Gah!
I was bitten by one of these fuckers a couple of months ago. Little bastards.
These are great pics, though.
posted by JeffK at 7:38 AM on July 17, 2009
I was bitten by one of these fuckers a couple of months ago. Little bastards.
These are great pics, though.
posted by JeffK at 7:38 AM on July 17, 2009
Is it just me, or has internet porn become really weird?
It sure has!
posted by JeffK at 7:43 AM on July 17, 2009
It sure has!
posted by JeffK at 7:43 AM on July 17, 2009
No fucking way. Next you'll be trying to get me to click on centipede pics, and that won't happen, either.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:01 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 8:01 AM on July 17, 2009
The caption underneath the first horrifying close-up at the Black Widow link:
Female Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans. Black widows have eight eyes.
I find the inclusion of this detail (and ignoring that most spiders have eight eyes) to be pleasantly evil. Carry on.
posted by empyrean at 8:36 AM on July 17, 2009
Female Black Widow, Latrodectus mactans. Black widows have eight eyes.
I find the inclusion of this detail (and ignoring that most spiders have eight eyes) to be pleasantly evil. Carry on.
posted by empyrean at 8:36 AM on July 17, 2009
I wish I could favorite this post 100 times.
posted by jquinby at 8:42 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 8:42 AM on July 17, 2009 [2 favorites]
I love spiders. They are some of the most awesome and amazing creatures out there. One of the exterminator techs we've had remembered me as that woman who didn't want the spiders bothered. (We had two Orb spiders with massive webs on our back deck at the time.)
That said, I think I've found my limit when it comes to how closely I want to see some of them. That Wolf spider page gives me the heeby jeebies. Yikes.
posted by elfgirl at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2009
That said, I think I've found my limit when it comes to how closely I want to see some of them. That Wolf spider page gives me the heeby jeebies. Yikes.
posted by elfgirl at 8:55 AM on July 17, 2009
WolfDaddy: Just to make absolutely sure you are terrified...
Have fun!
posted by lazaruslong at 9:03 AM on July 17, 2009
Have fun!
posted by lazaruslong at 9:03 AM on July 17, 2009
too scared; didn't look
posted by slimepuppy at 9:14 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by slimepuppy at 9:14 AM on July 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
These photos are some of the best I've seen, and yep, I've been searching for spider pictures recently. Seeing this, I am now sure that it was a brown recluse on my husband's truck a couple of weeks ago.
I have a picture of a pretty yellow spiny orb-weaver that I should send them.
posted by zinfandel at 9:40 AM on July 17, 2009
I have a picture of a pretty yellow spiny orb-weaver that I should send them.
posted by zinfandel at 9:40 AM on July 17, 2009
I hate spiders, hate them, but I can usually appreciate the aesthetic beauty of...oh say...a black widow or a garden spider - with their exotic "I can kill you" markings and plasticine bodies. But when you zoom in 15 times more than is appropriate into the face of a wolf spider I can't find anything beautiful about it. It basically looks like my cat after Chernobyl, with 8 murderous eyes and too many legs.
posted by thankyoujohnnyfever at 9:57 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by thankyoujohnnyfever at 9:57 AM on July 17, 2009
I agree with nimsey lou and dhruva: Opo Terser's photos are way better. Jumping spiders are teh cute!
posted by scruss at 10:11 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by scruss at 10:11 AM on July 17, 2009
Cool! I was trying to identify a huge jumping spider in our kitchen yesterday. It sat there, glancing back and forth between my wife and me.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:21 AM on July 17, 2009
Man I love me some black widows. Those are some gorgeous creatures.
I also like the smell of skunk. I am from the desert.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2009
I also like the smell of skunk. I am from the desert.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2009
Flagged as "HORRIFYING!!!!!!!!!".
posted by LordSludge at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by LordSludge at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2009
Those spider pictures are *beautiful*!
Yes, they are, and so, my horror is colliding with my aesthetic sense, giving me the urge to go find other beautiful but terrifying things. Things such as Angelina Jolie, clowns reciting poetry, and bees recreating impressionist art.
posted by neewom at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2009
Yes, they are, and so, my horror is colliding with my aesthetic sense, giving me the urge to go find other beautiful but terrifying things. Things such as Angelina Jolie, clowns reciting poetry, and bees recreating impressionist art.
posted by neewom at 12:01 PM on July 17, 2009
Thank you for this. I find spiders to be fascinating, and beautiful creatures. At this level of magnification, they are furry. Makes them look like some sort of an alien mammal.
The wolf spider mamma, carrying her babies on her back... kinda warm & fuzzy feeling.
And, no, I'm not being sarcastic.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:05 PM on July 17, 2009
The wolf spider mamma, carrying her babies on her back... kinda warm & fuzzy feeling.
And, no, I'm not being sarcastic.
posted by IAmBroom at 1:05 PM on July 17, 2009
Bees appreciating Van Gogh close enough?
Terrifyingly interesting.
posted by neewom at 4:43 PM on July 17, 2009
Terrifyingly interesting.
posted by neewom at 4:43 PM on July 17, 2009
While car camping with my family in Maryland last month, I found a beautiful black spider under the edge of our tent's rain fly. I called for my 4 and 7 year old to bring over the junior ranger kits they had bought a few days earlier -- those plastic boxes with the magnifying glass lids and little nets. They helped me herd the spider into the box and then passed the spider around for few minutes. Then we let the spider go. I never got to see the underside of its round abdomen, but appreciated the pretty red dots on top.
When we got home, I googled around until I found this picture, which is pretty much exactly what we saw in the box. I told the kids we had captured a poisonous black widow spider, and they thought that was awesome.
posted by hhc5 at 9:41 PM on July 17, 2009
When we got home, I googled around until I found this picture, which is pretty much exactly what we saw in the box. I told the kids we had captured a poisonous black widow spider, and they thought that was awesome.
posted by hhc5 at 9:41 PM on July 17, 2009
Is this thread going to keep on being about how scared we are of things that weight like 50 mg? Nobody has any love for the fritillaries?
posted by molybdenumblue at 10:24 PM on July 18, 2009
posted by molybdenumblue at 10:24 PM on July 18, 2009
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I hate you so much right now.
posted by WolfDaddy at 4:05 AM on July 17, 2009 [4 favorites]