Monday in Nature Weekly Photo Sept. 28, 2015

[Edwin Barkdoll]

Patrick, the shot is a detail of the carapace of a horseshoe crab showing the lateral compound eye.

 

The lateral eye is clearly visible in the mounted specimen of your photograph.

 

The spiky "tail" is to the far right out of the image in my photo.

[Edwin Barkdoll]

John, Doug - horseshoe crabs are among my favorite "primitive" animals. If you ever get a chance to see their breeding

frenzy in Delaware or New Jersey and the simultaneous shore bird extravaganza, it is well worth the trip.

 

The water actually turns blueish there are so many eggs suspended in the water and one could, in principle tho I wouldn't

do it, walk across the backs of the crabs without ever touching the sand.

[ShunCheung]

<p>Thanks for the clarification, but it is still difficult for me to see that as a closeup of a horseshoe crab.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I missed the earlier moon shots, so here's another bit of last night's eclipse.</p><div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I went out to chase bees the other day, and this neat little moth showed up, so I chased it for a while instead. Certainly well equipped to drink from a flower.</p>

<p>This is with the 85/2.8 PCD micro lens, a huge heavy thing that is hard to use freehand, but occasionally it hits. </p><div></div>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>Since I am limited to one image, I can't show you the pre-cropped shot, which may or may not clarify anyway. This image from the side may help:</p>

<p>http://cdn2.arkive.org/media/F7/F7D1B9BF-AEA6-45E2-8D06-E1089B0524C6/Presentation.Large/Horseshoe-crab.jpg</p>

<p>The detail encompasses part of the carapace, or shell, with the lateral eye and lateral ridge; the eye being the kidney bean shaped object. The glistening quality is simply due to its being partially submerged.</p>

[Member69643]

<p>Wow... I can't say I've ever seen their eye close up, but I'd swear that's a picture of a beach with some cracked mud just barely covered by water and some kind of seashell. I believe you, I'm just saying it's so hard to get a grasp on it because I don't know what it's supposed to look like!</p>

<p>If photo.net ever holds an abstract photo competition, you have... pardon the pun... a shoe in!</p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>John, great spider shot. It provides a 3-dimensionality I don't often appreciate in spider web shots.</p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

Katherine, I think that is pokeberry. Bittersweet is a vine and has small yellowish orange round pods.

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>but I'd swear that's a picture of a beach with some cracked mud just barely covered by water and some kind of seashell.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That was exactly what I thought.</p>

<p>BTW, as long as it is for explanation purposes, I would imagine that it is acceptable to post a second image to the thread, and that image doesn't have to be nature (as Patrick's museum capture above).</p>

<p>Everybody's primary entry to these threads should meet the nature guidelines, and Laura would like to limit to just one image per person per week. Of course, there are always some occasional exceptions, but please observe those guidelines.</p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>Tail to the right but not visible due to attached and breeding male and photo's limited perspective</p><div></div>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I thought I had seen a lot of horseshoe crabs in New Jersey, but I never noticed that their shells have such crack patters. Usually my focus was in the egg-laying season (full moon in May) and the sea birds feasting on those eggs.</p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>I had not really thought about it before but you prompted me to look at the 3 horseshoe crab shells on my shelf and they all have that pattern to varying degrees of visibility. I think they are all from Maine (one definitely is - it is still decaying) so I suppose there could be regional variation but I suspect I had just never noticed it before, not having inspected them that closeup.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>apologies for forgetting which forum this is and posting two images. Oops.</p>

<p> </p>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Matthew,<br>

Snap of the whip............forgiven ;-)</p>

<p>Edwin,<br>

Thanks for the additional view. I've never seen these crabs on the beach, but have always wanted to. I'm going to look a lot closer if I get the chance. The close up is stunning.</p>

<p> </p>

[thadley]

<p><img src="/photo/18097207" alt="" />Some fantastic shots today - closeups and long distance moon shots.<br>

Mine is just some birch in parc Tremblant a couple of days ago. The backdrop is this huge rock that I found colorful.</p><div></div>

[Gup]

<p>Edwin, that shot is captivating. I've picked up many empty horseshoe crab shells on beaches I've combed and never seen an eye up that close, probably because they are sans eyes at that point, and the shells all appeared smooth. <br>

Congratulations on fooling most of us, regardless of your intentions. :)</p>

[roman_p]

<p>Last September I was caught by the alpine storm and spent a quite rough night on the high altitude. Don’t want to create a long story of surviving experience – it’s not related to photography anyhow. Early morning when the storm began winding down I started the descending. I had been in the clouds for several hours already and totally soaked with moisture, but at the elevation below 4000’ I saw that the clouds were dissipating and it became much warmer and quitter. I set up my Nikon N80 on the tripod and fired several shots of this beautiful view of Keene Valley and the clouds beneath me.</p><div></div>

[scott_murphy5]

<p>"Blood Moon" from IA. D300, 600mm f/4 ED-IF AIS and TC-300. 1800mm equivalent focal length!<br>

<a href="/photo/18097742">http://www.photo.net/photo/18097742</a></p>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

Thanks, Gup. Definitely no intentions to fool anyone.

[fgorga]

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>A damselfly (either boreal or northern bluets; can't distinguish without having a specimen in hand) mating wheel. Made back in July along the Zealand Fall trail in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.</p>

<p><img src="http://gorga.org/blog/wp-content/gallery/17-jul-2015/dsc8103.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="480" /><br>

Nikon D300 with 36 mm extension tube and a 300 mm f/4 lens.</p>

[anthea50]

<p>An interesting, varied thread this week. Since I'm not at all knowledgeable about nature, but I love photographing it and trying to learn more, it is easy for me to come across the unknown :) This week when I was scanning the garden I saw a small green insect resting on the edge of a Cosmos flower.</p><div></div>

[Andrew Gosden]

<p>Great shots this week.<br>

I took a couple of pictures of an unknown (to me) caterpillar on my hydrangea but they are still on the card and it was too cloudy to see the eclipse. Instead this is just a bee on a flower.<br>

<img src="https://akgosdenphotos.smugmug.com/Flowers/2015/i-hQ98pHQ/0/700x700/20150920-IMG_7632-700x700.jpg" alt="" /></p>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Mary,<br>

Thanks for the nod. It's a pure macro shot.</p>

[sallymack]

<p>A 109-year-old giant tortoise at the Reptile Gardens near Rapid City, South Dakota. He weighs 500 lbs and is magnificent! --Sally</p><div></div>