Yep! As I was leaning over the caterpillar for a closeup I saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of my eye. My eyes have become trained to recognize this type of motion, and sure enough, it was a little racing spider. I didn’t get a great photo of it, but I did get one. Friday will be another “where’s waldo” post, only it will be much harder.

I haven’t turned over any rocks yet. I don’t have an official “no disturb” policy but I definitely have an unofficial one. Every time I visit my father-in-law he’s says “Hey, wanna go dig up some bugs for your blog?” The first time I said yes I discovered that he was being literal: he grabbed a shovel and headed for the garden.

When possible I like to photograph bugs au naturel, such as a casual stroller might observe just by walking by. Partly it’s an eco-friendly stance, but mostly I feel like manipulating the environment is cheating.

Perhaps this is an overly restrictive stance. I certainly am suffering for photos this winter, and after yesterday’s outing I am convinced that there are millions of bugs just outside my door.

Hmm… it wouldn’t be cheating too much if I were to dig up some midge larvae from the pond floor to photograph. Then again, while it wouldn’t be cheating it would a lot of cold, wet work….