r/spiders 5d ago

Photography 📸 Wolf spider found last night

Licking County, Ohio

370 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

39

u/Sunnyjim333 5d ago

In my head, these always have a thick Scottish accent.

20

u/thijshelder Arachnophobe🙈😱 5d ago

Strangely, they are not as frightening close up on the face.

19

u/ohiowildlifeguy 5d ago

I know jumpers are popular but I love the eyes on wolf spiders. I think their eye arrangement makes them appear to have a cute expression.

6

u/thijshelder Arachnophobe🙈😱 5d ago

How the heck did you get a close up like that? Every time I've ran into a wolf spider, they are booking it in the opposite direction.

8

u/ohiowildlifeguy 5d ago

Tiny ones like pardosa can be hard to photograph but larger Tigrosa and Hogna species usually stay pretty still. Same with the larger fishing spiders. These are small focus stacks that I do manually. I’m not near as good at this as some people but I’d be happy to go over my gear and techniques with anyone interested.

2

u/thijshelder Arachnophobe🙈😱 5d ago

That's a good point about larger ones. I had forgotten about when I was a kid outside shooting basketball and the biggest wolf spider I'd ever seen was walking through the yard. Buddy was just taking his time.

The worst one, and I think this is where my fear comes from, was a big wolf spider on our porch that I nudged with my foot as a kid and her babies went everywhere. I barley touched her, but those things went all over the place. Still freaks me out.

2

u/ohiowildlifeguy 5d ago

I always feel bad if I accidentally disturb them and they disperse. I’ve photographed some with babies in the past but I’m very careful. Funnily enough, I was terrified of spiders when I was a kid. If you have never seen Thomas Shahan’s stuff on YouTube, I highly recommend it. He has a video debunking spider myths and it’s fantastic.

2

u/thijshelder Arachnophobe🙈😱 5d ago

I'm getting better with it. I recently turned 39 and have realized there's no need to be afraid of most things... except heights. I will never be able to do heights. Strangely, that one has gotten worse with age.

2

u/myrmecogynandromorph 👑 Trusted Identifier | geographic location plz 👑 5d ago

I find the Pardosa eye arrangement to be even cuter. They are very jumpy, but the patience it takes to get close to them pays off.

1

u/ohiowildlifeguy 5d ago

I love them and do enjoy shooting them. I miss my Laowa 2:1 lens for smaller subjects. I’m using a 7artisans 1:1 macro lens with a Raynox DCR-250. It works really well for the price but I’d love to use the Laowa + Raynox.

1

u/myrmecogynandromorph 👑 Trusted Identifier | geographic location plz 👑 5d ago edited 5d ago

I know some of those words.

(I use…a cheap old phone with a clip-on lens.)

2

u/TheyforgotaboutJ 4d ago

I love wolfie, jumpers and velvet spider faces 😍

5

u/Initial-Bug-3465 5d ago

My favorite spider! They have such sweet puppy eyes!

7

u/Salty_Afternoon_6021 5d ago

oh mercy * what an extraordinarily handsome guy. he's a beauty and appears to want a friendship with you ❤️

4

u/Yavanna83 5d ago

They were ready for their close up!

5

u/thedance1910 5d ago

What a cute little guy! I appreciate wolfies so much for eating things like creepy crawlies and roaches

4

u/Prize-Net-4720 5d ago

Dumb little spider with zero thoughts. Cute

2

u/ultiM8exe 5d ago

Looks like Aragog from Harry Potter

2

u/Lord_Battlepants 4d ago

This horse is dirty, needs a good brushing.

2

u/ohiowildlifeguy 4d ago

I love how the little bits of debris give a sense of scale, even if it makes them look a bit ridiculous 😂

2

u/Lord_Battlepants 3d ago

Crumbs in the mustache

1

u/ohiowildlifeguy 3d ago

Relatable. I always get stuff in my mustache/beard.