Have you ever seen the little hairs of a moth up close? Did you know they’re actually called scales? Macrophotography, the art of taking close-up photos of small subjects, can help us see things from a different perspective.
Dr. Shahan Derkarabetian, The Nat’s Curator of Entomology, practices macrophotography and specializes in arachnids, specifically opiliones and spiders. His detailed photos are helping us learn and appreciate our mission region’s small invertebrates (animals without backbones), are contributing to research, and are just plain cool!
Though insects and other small invertebrates are everywhere, they’re so tiny that most people don’t notice or know a lot about them. In fact, about half of all of the known species on the planet are insects. Yet relative to their diversity, we know the least about them and it is estimated that only 20% of the insect species that exist have been formally described by science.
Insects play important roles in nature: they are key parts of the food web (both as predators and prey), and provide crucial services to our ecosystems like pollinating many plants and cycling nutrients by helping decompose plant and animal matter.
The sheer number of insects around the planet is part of the reason why they’re so underrepresented. Plus, they’re not exactly easy to observe. They run, scurry, or fly away and often hide. If you want to see them, you have to know where to look. You’ve likely been in the presence of thousands of insects and never knew they were even near you.
Unfortunately, many people don’t love them (especially spiders), which makes it harder for people to want to learn about them. That’s where macrophotography comes in: seeing them up close can make them a lot more interesting. Even cute, one may say.
Look at the fun colors of this male jumping spider (Habronattus pyrrithrix) that Shahan photographed in Baja California Sur. The male jumping spiders are brightly colored, and they show off those colors by dancing to attract females. You can find this species right here in San Diego, too!
Having a detailed picture of a specimen allows scientists to capture moments or images that may have never been seen before. This cave meshweaver (Cicurina) spider nest was first captured by Shahan on Mount Pinos in Ventura County, and is the first recorded observation of the silken retreat for this group of spiders—it’s basically a nest!
Macrophotography can also be advantageous in scientific projects like The Nat’s Healthy Canyons Initiative, which aims to document the plants and wildlife of San Diego’s urban canyons. Shahan’s insect macrophotography allows him to document the insects that live in our local canyons with the amount of detail needed to help identify their species.
Macrophotography is not only a way to contribute to our entomological knowledge, capture images of insects no one has documented before, or even provide a basis for anatomical sketches, but it also brings science and art together. Shahan gets to capture the beautiful characteristics and individuality of these small creatures and share them with the world—and with you!
This peridot sweat bee (Augochlorella pomoniella) is native to our region, and was photographed in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Imperial County. It's a beautiful example of art and science uniting.
This wolf spider (Pardosa spp.) was found in Mount San Jacinto. Wolf spiders are fairly common and have striking coloration and patterns on their body, characteristics that can be better appreciated in macro photos.
This juvenile lynx spider (Hamataliwa spp.) is from Baja California Sur and is barely the size of a pencil eraser. Under those white hair tufts are something called chelicerae, which hold the spider’s fangs.
This male jumping spider (Pellenatus spp.) from San Diego County is displaying mating behavior by lifting up its legs and "dancing". Shahan thinks it saw its reflection on the camera lens and thought it was a female!
This ant is part of a species complex (closely related group of organisms) named Pseudomyrmex pallidus. It was photographed in Baja California Sur.
These Misumenoides spiders are often called crab or flower spiders because of their shape and where they hang out. Shahan took this picture in Baja California Sur.
This beautiful mantis (Yersiniops newboldi) was photographed in Baja California Sur. You can really appreciate the detailed patterns and colorations on its body—shoutout macrophotography!
Posted by Janae Pabon on July 14, 2025
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