Following an initial exploration of a road edge in the Rotorua Redwoods, our next mission was in an area of mixed forest which included some eucalypts. Earth banks were a great spot for tunnelweb and sheetweb spiders.

The aroma of eucalypts along with the number of wallabies and possums seen created an impression of Australia but the endemic invertebrates made it clear that we were in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Ferns along the track hosted other invertebrates and opportunities arose to photograph native Leaf-veined Slugs and Native Bush Cockroach. The shiny surfaces of both providing a good challenge for the effectiveness of the the flash diffuser.

Dropping down the hillside after the climb the habitat changed and different species were available as subjects. The range of microhabitats is intriguing and significant changes occur in small distances with changes in elevation and aspect. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a biologist returning from Macquarie Island as I was heading to the New Zealand Subantarctics. She had been studying microhabitats around individual plants and taking gaseous samples to assess the nature of the habitat created by the plant.

Tailed Forest Spiders are quite unique with their extended abdomen. They are probably historically self introduced by ballooning from Tasmania where similar species exist

Vagrant spiders are active hunters and potentially aggressive with a painful bite.

Photos with Nikon D500, 60mm micro Nikkor lens, SB900 flash and homemade diffuser.