Belostoma sp. water bug, Illinois
I'm so used to taking photos of fast-moving ants and beetles that a sedentary insect comes as something of a relief. Instead, the challenge with this Belostoma giant water bug was lighting the shot.
Aquariums are prone to reflections and dust on the glass. I arranged a diffused flash above the tank, positioned behind the glass so as not to leave a reflection by illuminating the camera.
Photo details: Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 100, f/8.0, 1/200 sec, diffused overhead flash
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Male (left) and female Diapheromera femorata
Myrmecos blog commentators identified Sunday's mystery photo almost instantly as a stick insect laying an egg. The species is the Northern Walking Stick Diapheromera femorata, a common local insect easily collected by beating tree branches. We've…
This tiger moth caterpillar may appear normal at first glance. But a closer look reveals it to be plagued by dozens of wasp larvae, slowly consuming it alive as they cling to its back:
photo details (top photo): Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 200, f/7, 1/200 sec, indirect…
Nicrophorus orbicollis, Sexton Beetle, Illinois
The intrepid students of IB 468 caught this beautiful black burying beetle during a field trip to Dixon Springs, Illinois. They were kind enough to let me photograph it before it went to the collection.
Rather than me blathering on about this…
Scarites sp. Ground Beetle (Carabidae)
Urbana, Illinois
As the summer bug season freezes to a close here in Illinois, our attention turns increasingly to the cryptic habitats where insects settle in to overwinter. The flowers have faded, but insects can still be found under tree bark, in rotting…
IT not Friday Alex you got your day mixed up :)))))
True bug, not a beetle, so we still have something to look forward to.
Great shots!
Very nice shots! I'd like to see what you could do with a Lethocerus.
~Kai
Fantastic, as usual. I know you know, but it's still
nice to hear it. We are never so harsh as when we judge ourselves.
I dunno for how long, though. I'm running dangerously low on both beetle photos and the time to go out and photograph new ones. At this rate I might have to resort to linking to Ted MacRae every Friday instead...
Oddly enough, the larger the insect the harder it is for me to photograph it well. The sets start becoming simply enormous- perhaps a whole foot or more across(!)- and that's a lot of extra prep work compared to the miniature sets needed for tiny subjects. So Belostoma is easier than Lethocerus.
I do have this shot of a Lethocerus out of water. It's not doing anything terribly exciting, though. Someday I'll get one of those dramatic predation shots where it's eating a toddler. Or something.
It's kind of like Friday here, though. We have the long Thanksgiving weekend starting tomorrow.
Attractive critter. These are very good shots!
:)
Did you hand hold the flash heads above the water? Also, you've mentioned your tissue diffuser setup doesn't work with the 100mm, so how did you diffuse the flash?
I just think these are really awesome shots!