spiders

Scientists may have discovered one of the most astonishing camouflage strategies in the animal kingdom yet. So, how many spiders can you see in this photograph?

Every fall, as the days get shorter and colder, a groundswell of tarantulas takes over the landscape of La Junta, Colorado, and the surrounding southeastern Colorado region. Conservation and wildlife photographers Devon Matthews and Kristi Odom were on site this year to document the incredible annual event.

The last time PetaPixel spoke with talented macro photographer David Joseph, he was using his smartphone to incredible effect. Joseph has now upgraded to a dedicated camera system and pointed his new macro lens at spiders, an oft-misunderstood and rarely appreciated arthropod that plays a vital role in ecosystems across every continent, save for Antarctica.

In the southeast corner of Colorado sits a small town of just under 7,000 people called La Junta. Not only is this small town unique, what happens just outside of it is even more so: thousands of tarantulas “migrate” annually through the Comanche National Grasslands.

Greek photographer Alexandros Maragos recently captured an unusual phenomenon in the town of Aitoliko: a 1,000-foot-long (~300m) spider web that blanketed a vast area of the landscape.

For several years now, Singaporean macro nature photographer Nicky Bay has been focusing his lens on spiders that have mirror-like reflective abdomens, which he calls mirror spiders. Certain species have mirror-like scales on their abdomens that change size depending on the spiders' mood.