A pregnant fishing spider. (shape comparison) Soon she'll lay her eggs and wrap them in webbing to make a sac she'll carry around until they are ready to hatch. The egg sac starts out white, but it soon turns a dirty brown.
Not as sharp as I'd like, but it was about 4 feet out in the pond so I had to use the full (250mm equivalent) zoom on my little ZS100, and hold it with my arm stretched out to get a bit closer. All of which makes it tough to hold steady. And then this is about a 50% crop. It was the best of about 30 shots I took of her. You also have to be careful to move slowly, any sudden movement and they dive underwater.
I've been seeing them more out in the open this summer. That might be because there are more floating plants. Or it might be that I'm getting more practiced at spotting them. And usually I see them sunning, but this one was half hidden under the plants, in the shade. (It's usually the females that you see because they're much larger than the males.)
Early morning before work is my favorite time around the pond. It seems like the only time of day that it isn't full of people. Not that I can blame them - it's a lovely spot and more and more people seem to be discovering it. But it's better to observe and photograph when it's quiet.
Not as sharp as I'd like, but it was about 4 feet out in the pond so I had to use the full (250mm equivalent) zoom on my little ZS100, and hold it with my arm stretched out to get a bit closer. All of which makes it tough to hold steady. And then this is about a 50% crop. It was the best of about 30 shots I took of her. You also have to be careful to move slowly, any sudden movement and they dive underwater.
I've been seeing them more out in the open this summer. That might be because there are more floating plants. Or it might be that I'm getting more practiced at spotting them. And usually I see them sunning, but this one was half hidden under the plants, in the shade. (It's usually the females that you see because they're much larger than the males.)
Early morning before work is my favorite time around the pond. It seems like the only time of day that it isn't full of people. Not that I can blame them - it's a lovely spot and more and more people seem to be discovering it. But it's better to observe and photograph when it's quiet.
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