Bugging About Friday: It’s a Trap!!!!!!!

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Arachnids, Art, Bugging About Friday, Night Time Photography, Photography, Wolf Spider

Sometimes I like to go for late night walks, which help me to think and give me time by myself. While wandering past the sandy area next to the local graveyard, I noticed the fleetest hint of movement on the ground and immediately investigated. After some careful looking, I noticed that the movement was from an open hole in the ground and initially I thought “Oh a burrowing wolf spider”. Then I noticed it: The silk and dirt lid sitting next to the hole.

The movement had been a trapdoor spider! Now I just had to figure out how to photograph it.

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My “Real Life Bugs” Collection is Finally Finished!

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Arachnids, Art, Bugs, Insects, Photography, Spiders

As I frequently talk about my love of everything creepy and crawly on this blog, it’s appropriate that I would celebrate my recently completed collection of “Real Life Bugs” from National Geographic. The series has been going for a while, since last year, but we recently got the last few bugs and assembled them all in the display cases.

While some of the bugs are really great, such as the first scorpion they had, the quality of the individual critters can be very sketchy at times. In particular, some bugs like the Red Jewel Beetle had a lot of trouble coming through with their spectacular natural color intact. On the other hand, some other bugs were truly spectacular and are just about perfect, like the Flower Mantis.

Bugging About Friday: Web Invasion

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Arachnids, Art, Bugging About Friday, Photography, Spiders

When I saw this scene playing out on a suburban fence, I knew I had to try to capture the moment that was happening before me. Here, a white tailed spider, is sneaking up as close as it can to the small grey house spider just near the top of the photo (it’s in the gap between the fence).

Bugging About Friday: Spot the Spider

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Arachnids, Art, Bugs, Crypsis, Photography, Spiders

In today’s edition of Bugging about Friday, I present to you a puzzle: Where is the spider in the photograph?

Bugging About Friday: Burrowing Wolf Spider

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Arachnids, Art, Photography

While taking photos in a park I noticed these fairly large circular holes in the ground, which later in the evening on my way out had their occupant expectantly sitting at the entrance: A burrowing wolf spider! Naturally by keeping my breathing low and making as little vibration as possible, I could get close enough to get some photos of the spider in the burrow.

Trail of Cthulhu: Eight Legged Consequences (Play Report)

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Advice, Arachnids, Cthulhu, Glory be to Leng, Horror, Roleplaying, Trail of Cthulhu

Masks of the Dreamer: Anagnorisis

So far in this campaign, I’ve not really needed to deviate a lot from the original script I had written and most of the investigations were fairly pre-planned before I even begun. It’s somewhat scary that my campaign has actually been moving so smoothly over the various plot threads I wrote, but one way my players did interfere considerably with the plan was the actions Jenn and Maggie took some time ago. If you remember a few investigations back, Maggie hatched a plot to try and rescue another sorcerer who had traded his life for another and become stuck in the Dreaming Dark (in Leng, to be precise). Unfortunately by messing with the magic system I created in the correct, but not quite correct enough way Maggie and Jenn accidentally brought over more than they bargained for.

A lot more in fact, because something from Leng crossed over and back into their world. This naturally didn’t impress the other investigators, but due to having other things to get on top of they largely ignored this event and they were also in Nepal for a considerable while. While this was happening, the creature was busily preparing all manner of terrible things, murdering people for sustenance and then eventually starting to produce it’s own band of servitor “Marionettes” to help it. Eventually word of these bizarre murders got out in London and the investigators realized that it was accelerating its plans.

It was clear Maggie was going to have to confront her mistake and the other investigators decided to go along. If for no other reason than because nobody approves of giant spiders, well except me and I’m currently trying to kill the investigators with them so…..

Bugging About Friday: Golden Orb Weaver

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Arachnids, Bugs, IRL, Photography

The golden orb weaver has quite the reputation around the internet, as they make extremely strong webs that can cover many feet in length (3+ feet) and can sometimes capture small birds within. This of course gets turned into headlines that read “Giant Australian spider captures and devours a bird!” but the bird isn’t that big (only a few inches as well) – but comparatively golden orb weavers can get to an impressive size for a spider. Once again though, this is another case where the size is a deceptive quality because much like the huntsman and ogre faced spider they are a very placid species with no threat to people.

Bugging About Friday: Ogre Faced Spider

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Arachnids, Horror, Photography

Just so you know, if you find spiders frightening at the best of times you do *not* want to click the “More” button. Albeit, I personally find that the Ogre Faced Spider, or “Net Casting Spider” is actually rather misnamed because they have the most amazing large and I shall say, quite enchanting eyes.

Bugging About Friday: Garden Wolf Spider

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Arachnids, Bugs, Photography

When digging in the yard a while back, I noticed something movie about in the dirt and went to investigate. The small brown object eventually turned out to be this lovely beauty: A Garden Wolf Spider.

Nuclear Spiders: A Fantastic Horror Monster

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13th Age, 5th Edition DnD, Advice, Arachnids, Dungeons and Dragons, Horror, Night's Black Agents, Roleplaying, Shadowrun

Recently there has been a very amusing image going around on facebook, which I also shared I admit, of this sign:

A particularly lovely image evoking the horrors of nuclear irradiated critters, which have in numerous movies in the past had a habit of going on a murderous rampage against humanity. The anti-spider propaganda has quite a history and one of the most notable horror movies featuring spiders, Arachnophobia, actually did use real spiders – albeit of a considerably smaller size. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately for humanity, we shouldn’t have any worry of this irradiated gigantic spider invasion as the sign is a fake.

None the less, spiders are a fantastic and easy way to spice up any roleplaying game with some horror. Spiders have numerous advantages for a DM who wants to employ some interesting tactics, ideas or just build some tension. Most players don’t have to imagine being afraid of spiders and when these spiders are the size of a Volvo getting “In character” for filling ones pants is quite straightforward. Thankfully spiders can’t get this big in real life or we might be in trouble, but unfortunately for the protagonists of many roleplaying games spiders often can get big.

Very big.