tarantula Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Craig Rogers Photography

Close-up Of Our Local Tarantula

19th August 201819th August 2018Craig Rogers

In this months article in the Algarve Resident, I will be writing all about the Lycosa tarantula, the Tarantula Wolf Spider that we have near the Quinta. Therefore, for maximum effect, I decided to try to get a “Macro” shot (technical name for Close-up).

I don’t own a Macro lens, but I do have a Reversing Ring which enables me to attach my 50mm lens to my camera backwards which is the “Poor Mans Macro”. I wrote a Blog Post about this a few years ago.

So here you have it, a close-up of our Female Tarantula Wolf Spider! If you missed my post with all the information about this “original Tarantula” Spider, you can find it HERE.

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[Instagram] Our Local “Tarantula” Has A New Husband…..And Probably A Meal Too!

17th August 201821st October 2018Craig Rogers

This post is from my Instagram feed. Some Instagram feeds are not worthy enough of a new Blog Post, therefore, they will simply be shared. They are usually photos taken with my Mobile Phone. All Instagram posts will have “[Instagram]” at the beginning of the title.
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Our local Lycosa tarantula (Tarantula Wolf Spider) has found a new husband. Of course this may not be a long marriage as the female often eats the male after mating! The male is the smaller less-colourfull one outside the burrow. Shot and edited in Lightroom on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ #insect #spider #arachnophobia #wildlife #nature #algarvenature #portugal #insect_perfection #insectsofinstagram #algarve #Portugal #sãomarcosdaserra #saomarcosdaserra #algarveserra #portugalnature #arachnology #spiders Photography Workshops running in the hills of the Algarve, check my profile for details.

A post shared by Craig Rogers 📷 (@craigrogersphotography) on Aug 17, 2018 at 3:32am PDT

Tarantula Wolf Spider Served Breakfast (inc. Video)

18th July 201818th July 2018Craig Rogers

After discovering the Tarantula Wolf Spider burrow a few days ago (see blog posts), I decided to set up two cameras, one for a photography and another for video. I then dropped a Mealworm near the burrow that she gladly came out for a breakfast treat!

Due to the size, I think this is a female as they are considerable larger than the males. The female’s body grows to about 3cm whereas the male is only around 2cm. Also, the females live their entire lives in their burrows and the smaller males go off in search of females. In the winter they hibernate in the burrows. As you will notice in the video below, the burrow opening is almost 5cm wide which helps visualise the size of her.

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A Better View Of Our Resident Tarantula

17th July 201817th July 2018Craig Rogers

This morning I walked past the Tarantula nest and it came out to say “Bom Dia”. I will be setting up a rig to get a much better shot, but here is one I snapped on my mobile.

See Yesterday’s Post for more details of the Lycosa tarantula.

Morning Dog Walk: The Original Tarantula!

16th July 201816th July 2018Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

No it’s not a title of a new movie but here in Portugal we have the original Tarantula. You probably associate Tarantulas with the big hairy spiders such as the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula, however, these are not the original species of Tarantula and should actually be classed as Bird-Eaters. Tarantulas are actually less scary to anyone suffering from arachnophobia and even though they can bite if continually provoked, the bite is more like a Bee Sting rather than a lethal poison.

This morning, I was walking the dog and I spotted movement in a small hole under a flat pebble and soon noticed the bird nest looking entrance. There was a Tarantula poking it’s head out waiting for breakfast. I managed to get this quick snap on my phone before it retreated.