Excited to be part of the Wilderness Journal Issue #033! It includes stories of people celebrating and helping unique, vulnerable and threatened species to survive.

“I think if paradise existed, it would be inhabited by beautiful creatures such as these.”

For Maria Fernanda, the Maratus spider holds a special place in the natural ecosystem:

“The Maratus spiders of Australia are the most colourful, flamboyant, sexy, and charming spiders on the planet. To me, their use of colour, gesture, sound and movement makes them sophisticated visual and performing artists. They are also the smallest performers I know of, on average about 3—5mm in size, smaller than a grain of rice.”

“The male has to try extremely hard (both in visual communication as well as in charm and perseverance) to be ‘chosen’ by her. She exercises her right to choose, and drives him to display an excess of vibrant colour and performance virtuosity in a complex courtship ritual.”

Cardoso has worked with renowned scientific imager Geoff Thompson and entomologist Andy Wang from the Queensland Museum, who specialise in deep focus microphotography and microscopic specimen preparation to create these large-scale photographs. Each photographic image is comprised of over 1,000 individual photos which together reveal the spiders’ nuanced colour and form. Enjoy a close look at a genus of spider that would usually go unnoticed.

It includes stories of people celebrating and helping unique, vulnerable and threatened species to survive.