A New Year - lynx spider, bee wolf, carpenter ant, green midge, fishing spider, others

Happy New Year to all of my blog followers and to those who view and comment.  The support is greatly appreciated.  May your year be filled with joy, prosperity and may all of your objectives be met.

Remember to click any photograph if you wish to see a larger version.

Golden lynx spider (Oxyopes jacksoni) - finally after much searching I have found and photographed one of these beautiful spiders.  I have included 4 photographs (because I am allowed to).

 

 

 

Bee wolf (wasp) (Philanthus triangulum)- I have a spot that I watch almost daily and the bee wolf always sits out of photographic reach.  Finally managed to find it sitting in a good spot (after about a years waiting) and took the pictures.  These are beautiful wasps with yellow abdomens and a triangular yellow pattern on the upper thorax.

 

Spiky carpenter ant - I have seen so many different ant types right here in my own surroundings.  The creatures are so often ignored, but often provide the ideal macro photograph opportunity.

A tiny green midge - it appears to be nibbling on its foot.  I noticed that it looked like Jim Carey - The Mask - so have included a rather grainy enlargement for easier viewing.  Who said macro photography cannot be fun!

 

Fishing spider (Thalassinae spinosissimus)- this spider was most definitely one of the most challenging to get a decent photograph of.  The spider is so beautifully camouflaged, has spikes on its legs and has unique abilities.  The impressive looking spider has bright white borders and markings.  It hunts and lives near water with side vegetation.  It is able to drift and walks on water.  Food includes small crustaceans, tadpoles and small fish.  

 

The spider uses air which is encases itself with to breathe and it has a silvery sheen when submerged.  I took this photograph from the surface and the silvery areas (especially around the eyes and thorax area) are the air bubble / pocket.  The spider is submerged in this photograph.  An enlarged view should provide more detail - so click the photograph.

I used my Olympus camera in its 40 metre underwater-rated case (in macro mode) to capture a rather murky image of the spider submerged, but perched on a rock at about 10 centimetres below the surface.  Apologies for the quality, but one cannot have clean water all of the time.  I noticed it swims while submerged too, but no photographs to show this unfortunately.