The common name for salticids is jumping spiders and many are indeed phenomenal leapers. However, jumping alone is not what distinguishes salticids from other spiders. What makes salticids special is their unique, complex eyes and acute eyesight, not leaping prowess. Salticids have large anterior medial eyes that give them an almost catlike appearance. No other … Read more
Our team recently described three new species of spiders, from the ‘Kans’ of Central Western Ghats, Shivamogga, Karnataka; specialized niche-ecosystems consisting of evergreen and semi-evergreen vegetation, surrounded by deciduous forest, which results in unique micro-climatic conditions, making them rich pockets of bio-diversity within the Western Ghats, a global bio-diversity hotspot, and UNESCO World Heritage Site. … Read more
Amongst all denizens of the crawling kingdom, none perhaps evoke such strong and disparate feelings of loathsome fear and unbridled fascination as Spiders. Love them or loathe them, spiders were here before us – first appearing on the scene some 400 million years ago, before the mighty dinosaurs and long before the early mammals decided … Read more
This jumping spider was photographed on a rainy day on the top of my car. The background what you see is the pearl white finish paint of the Maruti Suzuki Swift car. Rain droplets as well as the spiders eye reflect the light source which was my ExpoImaging Ray Flash Adapter which was mounted on … Read more
Death in the domain of the insects can be swift and cruel but retains a magnificence and beauty that is somehow at odds with the brutality of what is happening. Today rain had subsided a little. I wanted to photograph Psyche (Leptosia nina) butterfly which was flying around those tiny pinkish flowers which I couldn’t … Read more
Today for breakfast I had a house guest in my kitchen. A Male giant crab spider also known as common house spider(Heteropoda venatoria), huntsman spider, banana spider (due to its occasional appearance in marketed bananas) appeared over a kitchen tile. He was a huge guy, body around 3 inches in size. He was patient enough … Read more