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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James and I spent the day with Nancy of @sci.bugs and @bernardourea, talking entomology, going over some cool books she had brought with her and hiking around the forest reserve of @elseptimoparaiso here in Mindo, Ecuador. We found a variety of beetles, weevils, spiders, katydids and even a Aperostoma quitensis, a very cool snail I've only seen once before! Very fun day, it isn't often we get to hang out with other people that are passionate about bugs, especially a proper entomologist. I learned a lot in just a few hours. #Entomologist #Books #Science #GeekingOut #NatureNerds #Nature #Bugs #Moths #Beetles #Weevil #Katydid #Biology #Biodiversity #Neotropics #CloudForest #Hiking #Explore #Ecuador #ElSeptimoParaiso #SeptimoParaiso

Dendrosophus carnifex, a tree frog that is frequently seen near bodies of water. Pretty common, but always cute. I think this is a female. In situ, although she hunched and flattened herself once I inched closer. She is also perched on one of the large bromeliads on the ground. They seem to flourish even in disturbed habitats, utilizing manmade pools and ponds, so threats to their existence don't seem to be a major issue, th as thankfully! #DendrosophusCarnifex #Dendrosophus #TreeFrog #Frog #Amphibian #Ecuador #NeoTropics #CloudForest #Biodiversity #Herpetology #Macro #MacroPhotography

One of my favorite spiders here in the cloud forest - a male Cupiennius, a type of wandering spider frequently encountered at night, when they are perched on broad leaves. They will pounce of insects or other spiders and consume them. Unlike some Phoneutria spiders, the venom of Cupiennius is not a big deal for a human, the effects are like the sting of a bee. I'd know, as I was accidentally bitten by a female when I touched a leaf she was sprawled out on. She thought I was some kind of prey item and latched on to the side of my hand for a few seconds. I swear once she realized I was something WAY bigger than she had planned on biting, she flipped out. I remember her suddenly letting go of me and dropping to the grass, flailing around like crazy before hopping away in a hurry! 🤣 I've got a lot of catching up to do here! The past two weeks saw me laying in bed after a tooth infection, which led to the removal of all my wisdom teeth. We are extending our trip in Ecuador to make up for lost time. #Cupiennius #WanderingSpider #MaleSpider #Spider #Arachnid #Macro #MacroPhotography #CloudForest #Nature #LoveForTheUnloved #Ecuador

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

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