PotM Calendar
The Photo of the Month (see gallery) is a year-round calendar of wildlife and nature images with story contributions from visitors, friends and fellow photographers.
When it comes to nature photography, it's not only those exciting tales of high adventure that often accompany talent and skill for a fabulous result. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a well-timed shot or well-framed one can say as much about you as a photographer. So, if you'd like to showcase one of your pictures here, free, for one calendar month with a bio or personal account, then this page is for you.
Raft by Roger Cox
Arne, Dorset
Spiders have spun, slung and hung their silken threads across the elements of earth, wind and water since the world began. So, for many lifeforms, there’s no avoiding them. Not even on the surface of a wet, weedy pond – a favourite haunt of this bog raft spider.
Throughout the summer, raft spiders not only use water as a web but also as a hideout and a hunting ground. Tiny hydrophobic hairs on their legs allow them to float around the edges of waterways where vibrations in surface tension alert them to prey like pond skaters, including drowning, thirsty, and egg-laying insects. When alarmed, they’ll use vegetation to run below the surface and stay submerged for up to 30 minutes, taking on a cling-film-wrapped appearance by breathing inside a bubble suit created by their water-repellent hairs; predatory ways undaunted, they’ll lurk instead to seize upon unsuspecting water boatmen, aquatic larvae, tadpoles, and small fish.
With a body length of 22mm, they’re the largest spider in the UK, of which there are two species: the bog raft and the fen raft. Both are remarkably strong, able to tackle prey up to four times their size. However, for courtship and reproduction, brute strength and a super urge to kill is tempered in males to take a more cautious approach with their mating strategies, as the larger, more rapacious females are notorious for preying on intruders and suitors alike.
Special announcements or simple hellos. Place your message or link here as part of your PotM agreement. With seven places left for 2025, the PotM Calendar is closed until May 18th. To learn more about posting news, comments and events under a PotM agreement, see our Terms of Use page, where you can submit your photo (along with your story) during the last two weeks of every month.
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