First queen wasp

The first queen wasp of the year got herself trapped in the conservatory. She was cold and calm, so I decided to give her a session with the white bowl. I held her in a tissue and placed her onto the bowl and she posed nicely. After a few photos, with me breathing onto her, she warmed up, started grooming her antennae and flew onto the window, and I let her go.
 The only overwintering stage of social wasps are queens. Males died at the end of the autumn after mating, and the workers a bit earlier. Their large paper nests are now empty, as the life cycle of social wasps lasts for less than one year. Queens overwinter in buildings or other dry places, but the strong wind and mild temperatures have probably helped stir this one out of her hiding place.
 The 'anchor mark' on her face identifies her as a common wasp, Vespula vulgaris.

Side view showing how hairy she is.

And a little grooming of antennae before flying off.

Spider portraiture

It is quite flattering that several people have congratulated me over the years on the invertebrate photos I feature in BugBlog, thank you guys! I don't claim to be a photographer, but I am happy to share a few tips on the white bowl technique, which I regularly use on critters found around the house and garden, especially on non-flying ones. As today I found the first male house spider, Tegenaria sp., of the season, I thought a post on this topic was timely.
Before my daughter finished saying 'spider!' I got the little beast running across the kitchen floor into a little plastic pot. For this, I save any little plastic pot I come across. You know the onion salad pot from an indian takeaway? ideal! To hold the bug for a few minutes the pot does not even need to have holes on the top. I also have a 'proper' bug viewing pot (like the one featured in the photos below). My bug pots are always available on the side of the kitchen and I always carry one in my bag.
The second piece of equipment is the bowl. A flat-bottomed white bowl, like those used for soup, is ideal, as its sides help reflect the light. Better if there is a smooth transition from the bottom to the sides, as it will reduce undesirable reflections.
 I take the bug pot and bowl to the conservatory (or outside, weather permitting), as I like as much natural light as possible.

And push the cat out of the chair (sorry!).

 Then I remove the lid of the bug pot, put the bowl on top, turn it round to transfer the spider to the bowl surface.

I'd like to say that, although it is a common technique, I don't like to use the fridge to cool down the animal, I am impatient and I want to get the photos and release the animal as soon as possible. Many of the bugs are naturally slow and settle quickly on the pot, or stop long enough for the shots. Male spiders at this time of the year are challenging, as they are very jittery and require a bit of attention until they are posing well. Usually, tapping on the table will startle them and they will stop running around. Unfortunately, they often stop leaning on the side of the pot, so when you remove it, they are settled in awkwardly like so...

...which is not ideal. I move the pot slowly until the spider is in the middle and blow softly under the pot, until the spider spread its legs.

Now lets go to camera settings. I don't own a DSLR, just a bridge camera (Canon Powershot G12, if you are wondering), but you can achieve a similar effect with any portable camera. I first set the flash on, and increase the flash setting to +2, this is important if the bug is dark, as the auto flash setting will result on an overall dark animal and not a very white background. You might need to experiment with your camera to find the best flash setting.

No flash

Flash on to +1

Then I set the focal point to the top left hand side of the visual field (nearer to the flash itself), instead of the central position. This ensures the animal is not in the shade of the objective. If I didn't do this, once I cropped the photo, the bottom right corner would be grey, not white, as it would be shaded by the objective. You can simulate this on a cameral without this setting by focusing in the middle point and then moving the camera trying not to lose the focus so that the animal is located in the top left hand side of the visual field.
 Today, I experimented by holding the camera vertical, so that the flash light came exactly in front of the spider.
Set the camera to macro, and fire away. I usually take lots of photos, as I want to get the focus right on the animal's eyes and I try also several angles, which are often useful for ID purposes.
  I download the photos in the computer and do some basic processing. Crop the white/grey space out, adjust the levels so that the white background is actually white, remove specks of dust or dirt and sharpen a little. That's it!

Cropping

White level adjustment

 This one is my favourite of the session today. Although the white background is not perfect, as it is greyer on the right hand side, I like the spooky effect of the spider leg shadows.

Meet the common false-widow spider

The Common False Widow Spider, Steatoda bipunctata, is a regular species in or on buildings and gardens. The female (pictured) is a shiny chestnut brown. It is a small spider, up to 7 mm, with two black spots on top of the abdomen which give it its specific name. It is also known as Rabbit Hutch spider. The male has a much smaller abdomen. It is unrelated to the Widow Spider and not particularly venomous. We found this female in the folds of the cover of a tarpaulin outside, but I have found this species on the dry underside of logs, waterbut covers and window frames. Mature specimens are found all year round, surrounded by a web made up of a tangle of silk threads, some of which are sticky and held under tension so that struggling insects might break them and dangle from them. Males stridulate during courtship making an audible sound using a series of ridges in the abdomen which rub against teeth to the front of the caparace. Although native from Europe, the species was introduced in North America in the early 20th century and outcompetes the closely related species S. borealis.

More information
Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme Website.

Martin Nyffeler, C. D. Dondale, J. H. Redner (1986) Evidence for displacement of a North American spider, Steatoda borealis (Hentz), by the European species S. bipunctata (Linnaeus) (Araneae: Theridiidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1986, 64(4): 867-874, 10.1139/z86-130.

An Adonis ladybird

A bright, mild afternoon brings all the ladybirds out from their hibernation sites. I count over 30 7-spots stirring out from little crevices between leaves or sunbating on fences and trunks. An unusual looking ladybird calls my attention, it's smaller and less round than the 7 spots, with relatively large spots. I bring it to the white bowl to photograph. It is an Adonis ladybird (Hippodamia variegata), an aphid eater that seems to have increased in frequency in recent years, but it is still not a common find.

Ladybird Identification
An ID guide of 23 species of British Ladybirds.

NBN records of Adonis ladybird.