Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Spider Confetti

This light diffracting tangle web is produced by spiders of the family Theridiidae. The sun actually illuminated the web as diamond dust, the spider nearly invisible (easily less than 1cm). The resulting image was an unexpected optical illusion, a slight breeze creating a dance of a full spectrum of hundreds of light prisms.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2021
Photo Location: Woodville, Texas, United States of America
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Copyright: © Linda Welzenbach