Camera Labs

Hi folks,

Does anyone know if this is just a confused spider or if it actually does prey on snails? Location: Central England.

Canon PowerShot G10, Focal Length: 6.1mm, Exposure Time: 1/400th, f/3.5, ISO 80

Oh, and apologies for misquoting Mary Howitt in the thread title. She actually wrote:

The Spider And The Fly
'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the spider to the fly,
''Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy,
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've got many curious things to show when you are there.'
'Oh, no, no,' said the little fly, 'to ask me is in vain,
For whoever goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again.'

And in this case it's not the spider with the winding stair but the snail.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

It seems there are some arachnids that like some crunch in their diet
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-B ... dy-d8.html
http://www.ent.orst.edu/bugbook/taxons/Taracus.html

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Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

Hi keystrokesuk,

Thanks for the links: the first one was particularly interesting (written by a relative of Gordon?) as it leaves no doubt that a spider can actively predate on snails, though I see they note such behaviour isn't widespread amongst the species they tested. I'll never know whether that would have happened in the case above as I had to get home but my guess is that the snail's days were numbered. It wasn't the brightest snail on the planet in any event as it had navigated right to the top of a six foot wire mesh fence.

Bob.

_________________
OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.