Pseudo scorpions - pseudoscorpionida

A pseudo scorpion - about 6 mm in length - living in a room near you.

Although relatively common, you hardly ever see them.  The pseudoscorpions are members of the Arachnids - relatives of spiders - but are harmless to anything bigger than a grain of rice.  They do carry venom, but the unusual fact is that it is found in the claws at the end of the pincers.  They feed on small creatures like mites and tiny insects.  Springtails are a favourite.

Another interesting fact about them is that they can produce silk - webbing material - that is used in the construction of nests and in mating.  These fascinating, tiny creatures are never bigger than 8 mm, about a third of an inch, and are common throughout the world in temperate and tropical areas.

I photographed this using a DSLR camera and 105 mm macro lens with a reverse-mounted 50 mm lens (filter to filter adapter), the first and only time I have ever tried this.  It's not a preferred way to do macro as it incorporates a lot of extra glass, but it certainly works.  

Just a fun post for today; I took this shot 12 years ago.

Thanks for reading.  

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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