These are some photographs of a Smooth Earth Snake I have taken. I shot them with my Canon 5D Mark II. My lens is a Canon MP-E 65mm 2.8 1x-5x macro lens. You can take extreme macro photographs with this lens. Smooth Earth Snakes are a common snake in Texas gardens. I usually find a dozen or more every year.
These small snakes only get about 8 inches. They eat small insects and larva. There are two types of Earth Snakes. There are Smooth and Rough Earth Snakes. Smooth Earth Snakes have smooth scales. Rough Earth Snakes have keeled scales that make them feel rough. These snakes are harmless and do not bite.
Smooth Earth Snakes are reptiles which mean they are cold blooded. Like other reptiles these snake have to have the sun to heat there bodies. They can sometimes be found in the open in grass soaking up the sun. If they sense danger they will quickly retreat into the leaves.
These photographs of a Smooth Earth Snake were taken on some old white carpet in my garage. I had found three of these in the yard that day.
These are some macro photographs of jumping spiders. Jumping Spiders are very common throughout the world. These small arachnids are named because they are quick and like to jump to capture prey and escape danger. Jumping spiders come in many different sizes colors and shapes. Jumping spiders have incredible eyesight and are very alert. These arachnids hunt by sight. When one of these spiders sees movement they will generally turn towards the movement or sometimes shy away if they sense danger.
Jumping spiders are mostly harmless to humans. Most are not aggressive and will not bite unless harassed. You can handle most jumping spiders without fear of being bitten.
I dont not know what exact species most of these are. I took these macro photographs of jumping spiders in Texas. Some were found in Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth.
I shot these pictures on a Canon 5D Mark II with either a Sigma 180mm or a Canon MP-E 65mm 1x-5x lens.
My favorite photographs are the first three where the jumping spider is on some pink colored flowers called Red Yucca. The jumping spider had actually caught another jumping spider and was eating it. I got a few photographs before the jumping spider got scared and dropped his meal. This was my first time to see a jumping spider eating another spider.
I shot these three photographs of jumping spider in Farmers Branch Texas in Gussie / Waterworth Park. Every year the park is full of flowers and roses. I usually find a lot of insects to photograph in this park. This was the first time I have seen a jumping spider eating another spider.
These are some videos I have taken of jumping spiders.
