What the Spiders Taught Me

Exploring the world of arachnids and nature through the photography and art of Shannon Bowley

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Category Archives: Reptile

Calendar for 2016 – Reptiles & Amphibians – From Cloud Forests to Canyons

November 23, 2015by bowleyshannon Leave a comment

This is my first calendar project,which I finished today and am really excited to offer to you all. You can preview and order it here. It’s only $14.99! “This 2016 […]

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2016, amphibians, Calendar, cloud forest, Ecuador, Frogs, Herpetology, Mindo, nature, Neotropical, Olympic Peninsula, Panama, photography, Reptile, snakes, wildlife

The ‘Hidden’ Intelligence of Reptiles

April 16, 2015by bowleyshannon Leave a comment

A little Facebook blurb I thought I’d add here: This New York Times piece is an older article (2013), but re-reading it reminded me of the fascinating Anadia rhombifera lizards […]

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Behavior, Ethics, Intelligence, Reptile

Artwork

Commissioned painting of Anolis proboscis, adult male and female, with male displaying for the female in a courtship ritual.

Digital illustration of Dendrobates “azureus”, a poison dart frog.

Ameiva ameiva My latest painting, a species of reptile I’d seen recently in Panama. I’d tried to capture the highly aware adult males on a few occasions, but they always bolted off just as I hinted interest in them.

Julie asked if I could work something up to represent La MICA for the upcoming ‘Mammal Meetings’. This was a lot of fun to do! Ballpoint pen and watercolors – finished in Adobe Photoshop CS3

Platalea ajaja – Roseate Spoonbill – Acrylics, Gouache – 2014 Subject was painted from a reference photo found via Google images. I’d love to shoot the species in it’s habitat to get my own references!

Canis lupus – The Grey Wolf Traditional-Watercolor

Selasphorus rufus (Rufous Hummingbird) Digital

Tersina viridis (Swallow Tanager) Traditional – Watercolor

Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) Digital

Digital painting of the endangered, Ecuador endemic ‘Proboscis anole’, Anolis proboscis. Anolis proboscis is one of three species of anole known to sport such a nasal appendage, belonging to the Anolis laevis group. These lizards have only recently been more fully described, as scientists went years without finding them. Deforestation is a primary threat to their population and the distribution of this species is currently thought to be very small, with the individuals that have been found living within a relatively limited area. James and I went on a long walk to find this species one night, in 2011. While we didn’t find the long nosed male…James somehow managed to spot a female in the trees above. I am always astounded by his ability to find creatures! The females are beautiful…and rather different from the male in coloration, being mostly green or brown and not sporting the extension on the snout. The males actually change color, too – a lot about them reminds me of chameleons. Digital

Bothrops osbornei – Osborne’s Lancehead Pencil

Hoopoe Lark – Alaemon alaudipes

Digital sketches.

A series of silly animals, sketched. Digital

Flickr Photos

More Photos

Arachnids

Adult female Argiope, preparing to deposit her eggs on a silk sheet.

Male, emerged from his retreat for the nights hunting

Strophaeus, or possibly Idiophthalma

Adult female, living in a tree

The first scorpion I had ever found and photographed!

Reptiles and Amphibians

A clubrid groundsnake, Atractus dunni, coiled up

One of 400 species of Pristimantis known to exist!

A tiny froglet, Pristimantis Mindo. This is a new species only recently described.

A tiny froglet, Pristimantis Mindo. This is a new species only recently described. Only about the size of my pinky nail!

News & Updates!

Completed a 2 week trip out to Enterprise, Oregon. A new blog post featuring photos from the trip will be up soon!

Also, be sure to check out James's new website for prints!

www.PrimevalNature.com

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Instagram

Not used to seeing this happen with conifers, but is it ever beautiful. A trip to Leavenworth, WA might have been the last time I'd witnessed the fall colors of our native Western Larch. These are Oregonian deciduous trees, the golden colored ones will drop their needles and tough out winter bare. They are extremely cold hardy. I just love the color contrast! #LarixOccidentalis #WesternLarch #Tamarack #Forest #Trees #Oregon #Mountains #Canyon #Fall #Autumn #SeasonalChanges #PNW #Nature #Outside

I wasn't expecting nature to look back at me, especially out of pure curiosity! Typically animals are suspicious of people, and I never, ever feed them to get photos. Instead of staying away, this beautiful Rock Wren hopped off a boulder they were standing on across the dirt road from me and to the fence behind/beside me as I waited for a fox to show up. I had been waiting for a long time, with no luck. First it peeked at me while it perched sideways from the wood post, and then it hopped to the wire to observe me for a little while, about two feet from where I sat. I'll probably share more photos of this bird and a few other individuals I'd watched in a few days. They seem like very spunky, intelligent birds. I had never noticed so many in that spot, but it is a perfect habitat, lots of big rocks for them to look for insect prey in. They seemed keen on the marmot holes. We are in their breeding range, but I imagine they will soon migrate south? #RockWren #SalpinctesObsoletus #Wren #Bird #Birding #Ornithology #Nature #NaturePhotography

One of my favorite sounds and sights. Tomorrow I'll roam the rivers to see what I can find. #Tree #Leaves #RustlungLeaves #Fall #FallColors #Relaxing #Outside

What a wonderful planet we live on! This was a beautiful, quiet and somewhat remote location in Panama, popular with locals and the occasional tourist for relaxing. I didn't go swimming, although the graduate students I was hanging out with on this hike did. Instead, I wandered about the river rocks, searching for amphibians. I'm sure they were tired of looking for frogs, as their research was about that very subject. There were lots of toad tadpoles, and who knows what else. I just love these places...I can hardly express the profound joy and excitement I feel when I am devoured by miles of wilderness, teeming with color, texture, and life! #Waterfall #River #Explore #Nature #Outside #Habitat #Neotropics #Panama #CentralAmerica #Forest #CloudForest #NaturePhotography #LeaveNoTrace

It won't be too much longer before I can explore this forest again, as James and I are looking forward to returning to the place that brought us together for our honeymoon trip. We are just starting to plan it, but just knowing it is *actually* going to happen in a few months is tremendously exciting! Specifically, I am hoping to follow up on researching/documenting some amazing spiders we had seen on trips in 2014, 2013 and 2011. #CloudForest #Forest #FloraAndFauna #Neotropics #Plants #Ferns #Bromeliads #Trees #Flowers #Biodiversity #Ecuador #Honeymoon #NaturePhotography

Found this fairly freshly killed and sizable vole while out walking yesterday. It was one of many animals I've seen killed near a neighbors house. She is a lovely older woman but she has many outdoor cats. They are all super adorable kitties, but walking through that area is like moving through a battlefield. So many corpses - bats, mice, snakes, and now a vole. Strangely enough i can't recall any dead birds but I'm sure they are also frequent victims. I hope that over time laws will be put in place to keep kitties inside, or contained. I love the idea of 'catios'. They get 'outdoor' time without total access to wildlife and are kept relatively safe from harm. On the same corner where these cats live, I'd found one killed from being struck by a car. It was interesting to come back to the dead vole to see who was checking it out. This clip was taken on my way home. An abundance of wasps and ants were taking advantage of the free meal. #KeepCatsIndoors #Cats #Vole #Wildlife #ThreatsToWildlife #Wasps #Sadness #NothingGoesToWaste #KindOf

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