There’s something bugging me

A tiny female Hawaiian Garden Spider with a much bigger one in the background

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Let’s Get Small.’ See more responses here.

Sorry to start off (above) with spiders, for those with aversions to them, but this one is very small. It’s a tiny female Hawaiian Garden Spider, probably no more than a quarter-inch across, though if it survives, it will grow to be as big as the other one in the photo.

In the gallery below, a Seven-spotted Ladybug putters about in some very green leaves. Another spider, this time a jumping spider no bigger than the little one at the top, has jumped a moth bigger than itself. Finally, what I think is a hover fly pretending to be a wasp with its black and yellow markings.

A Seven-spotted ladybug in Hawaii
A jumping spider captures a moth in Hawaii
A hover fly pretending to be a wasp[

Finally, a Camponotus variegatus ant or carpenter ant. Next, a bee collecting pollen on an agave attenuata. Note the tiny aphids sharing the flower. And finally ants and aphids on the leaf of a Hawaiian Crown Flower. In this symbiotic relationship, the aphids produce sweet goodies for the ants to eat and the ants provide protection against the aphids’ predators.

A Camponotus variegatus ant or carpenter ant
A Bee on an agave attenuata flower
Ants and aphids on an a Hawaiian Crown Flower

13 thoughts on “There’s something bugging me”

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      I was quite pleased with that. It’s only recently that I’ve spotted some of these smaller female spiders and the contrast in size is striking.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Graham's avatarGraham Post author

      It is huge in relation to the little female, but the male of this species is not much bigger than the little one in the photo. They have to be very brave and very agile!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Terri Webster Schrandt's avatarTerri Webster Schrandt

    I Love bugs and this is a fascinating look at the tiny world around us, Graham! The aphid/ant farm is amazing as all of your captures are. Did you use your new Lumix to capture these? And, nope those spiders don’t me. We’ve got some huge beetles roaming around that I can’t even consider small!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Sunday Stills: Lets Get #Small – Second Wind Leisure Perspectives

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