Afraid of Spiders? Beware!

Spider © 2008 Bo Mackison

This is actually a scorpion, not an itsy-bitsy spider. I discovered (surprise!) this monstrous guy while exploring a cave deep in a rain forest in Belize. Once it was determined he was quite harmless (gulp! – sure he was!) I aimed my lens at the scorpion from 6 inches away. Alas I only had my zoom lens – wish I’d had my macro. Now that might have been a great photo.

This arachnoid-friendly cave is a Mayan archeological site. Scientists have found artifacts from the Mayan Empire dating from 1000 A.D., evidence the cave was used for ceremonial and religious purposes. (You really don’t want to know exactly what kind of ceremonies, do you?)

About Bo Mackison

I'm a photographer, book-artist, traveler, naturalist, and creator of the Contemplative Creatives Journey, An Online Workshop and Community and Desert Wisdom Cards and Workshops. Though often not well known, I find the desert a welcoming place - a healing space. Its mysteries and gifts transformed me several years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. I'd love to share my desert discoveries and wisdom with you. Please subscribe to receive my five part mini email course The Gifts of the Desert. It's my gift to you.

Comments

  1. Beautiful…I wish you had the macro!

  2. Ugh…that is one heck of a scorpion and looks scary enough to me. Even though not macro, this is a really good picture of the scorpion on the neatly patterned rock. Looks like it posed for you. 🙂 I’m careful about photographing spiders or insects that look like spiders because sometimes they tend to jump. Yikes!

  3. spider… scorpion, somehow the distinction is failing to impress my Ew! reflex.

    I do admire the photographer however, I don’t think I’d get that close willingly no matter what species it happened to be.

  4. Thats really cool. Nice picture

  5. Wow! I love this shot….always exciting to get up close to something that scary! Poisonous or not…yikes:)

    S

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