The Raft Spider Dolomedes fimbriatus inhabits unpolluted bogs, ponds and marshes. It can be spotted sitting near the water, its legs touching the surface. When it feels the vibrations of potential prey, it rushes out to catch it, floating like a raft. Whilst underwater this spider breathes from an air bubble trapped around its body where it feeds on invertebrate larvae, and sometimes tadpoles or small fish. They remain ‘vulnerable’ to extinction on both the global and British IUCN Red List and are listed as a Priority Species in England under the Environment Act.
Alex Hyde is one of Britain’s leading exponents of close-up nature photography. His award-winning images portray a hidden world of extraordinary beauty. “To this day I delight in revealing tiny details of subjects that would be missed by the naked eye. Many of my pictures involve photographing moving subjects smaller than a grain of rice. Nature provides me with an endless array of fascinating subjects.”
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