Insects of the day

Posts

• Fire Posts: 19,096

  June 2021

  pitter-patter said:

  
  I’m very glad I’ve invested in a little macro lens for my phone, it has made quite a difference!

  
  @pitter-patter ?
  

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• B3 Posts: 27,505

  June 2021 edited June 2021

  I'd like to know about them too
  Googled them. They're not that expensive. I'm going to investigate further.😊

  In London. Keen but lazy.

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• pitter-patter Posts: 2,429

  June 2021

  @Fire, @B3 I’ve got these ones, but there are other available.
  
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QYKRR3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  

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• wild edges Posts: 10,497

  June 2021

  There's moths everywhere at the moment. Most have gone into the 'can't identify' folder but this Broad-barred White was a nice easy one.
  

  

  If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  

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• Fire Posts: 19,096

  June 2021

  I can't really folow Mr Wild, but here is a ladybird just emerged on my sofa.
  

  Am I right to think the black shell on the left is the ex-skin? It looks so.
  

  
  

  
  

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• Papi Jo Posts: 4,254

  June 2021

  wild edges said:

  This is why I love macro photography. These were incredibly hard photos to get with my set up and they're not the best but this has opened up an entire world I didn't know existed before now.

  I couldn't agree more. Macro photography, be it of insects or plants/flowers is not an easy hobby, but it does make you enter another world, it's like a safari in your own garden (or countryside). No need to fly to Africa or other exotic places!

  Of course better, more specialized equipment makes it easier to capture those photos, but nothing replaces the patient and observant mind (and eye) of the photographer.

  Thanks to all who post in this thread for sharing their discoveries.
  

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• wild edges Posts: 10,497

  June 2021

  Case in point. This is a photo I've wanted to take since last year but it's a tiny subject.
  

  

  Not the damsel...

  

  I often see them with these lumps when I edit the photos but they're always out of focus. Apparently they're Arrenurus water mites http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artdec99/mite.html Way too tiny to get a good photo on a living host but interesting nonetheless. They do very little harm to the host apparently and they don't seem to notice they're there. 
  

  You can see some on the male in the photo below but the female seems free of them. For all the heart shaped niceties of the pose the female doesn't seem thrilled with the choke hold.

  
  

  If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  

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• Fire Posts: 19,096

  June 2021 edited June 2021

  mites? eeww. I'm surprised it can't knock / brush them off
  

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• Alan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190

  June 2021 edited June 2021

  Pisaura mirabilis. They are a very variable species, this is darker than most, and rather smart. While I was photographing it a swollen-thighed beetle approached and I had both visible in the viewfinder, but before I could press the shutter the spider chased it, without success.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• wild edges Posts: 10,497

  June 2021

  Very snazzy. I saw a huge one the other day while out walking but couldn't get near it. They're very fast and nervous so you've done well to get that close.
  

  If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  

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