One great thing about macro photography is that you can do it anywhere. Ever since getting a macro lens I’ve explored the yard and marveled at what was out there like this tiny little Cuckoo bee I spotted while waiting for hummingbirds to come to the Bleeding hearts. None showed, but check it out –
Like other critters named for the Cuckoo bird, these bees lay eggs in nests already built and provisioned for other bees. I don’t think the larvae of these bees eat the larvae of others, or the eggs, but do eat the food left by the other mother. I’m not sure if she comes back, finds another egg and then just gathers extra food or if the same amount is left and the larvae have to take what they can get, but this one is probably on the hunt for a bee in the middle of this process. They are tiny at about 1 cm long. Cool colors and all of them seem to have those yellow patches.
Next up is a Six-spotted tiger beetle on my driveway. They love it there because they can grab ants all day long. I’m never quick enough to get the pounce, but when they sit still to actually eat, I can get in for a few shots. This one is especially gruesome with the body parts in front and the legs hanging out of the mouth. They don’t call them tiger beetles for nothing – ferocious hunters!
While doing that I noticed a different kind of movement and color and look who came out of the grass to join us – a wolf spider with her egg sac!
I was so happy to see her as I’ve never photographed one with an egg sac before. She carries it this way until they hatch when she will carry the babies on her back. The spiderlings stay on her until their first molt and then they drop off to live their spidery lives. Don’t worry about her going hungry during this time of mothering – she can hunt no problem even if carrying them is a bit awkward.
Because she isn’t that much bigger than a tiger beetle and was especially vulnerable with the kids in tow, I herded her gently onto a leaf and put it in the shade on the edge of the woods. Don’t want the hunter to become the hunted – wolf v. tiger!
This next critter is a new one for me and was very friendly and patient while I photographed it. I knew it must be a leafhopper and it is, one of a group called sharpshooters. One explanation for this name was an observation of some tiny holes in plants that look to have been made by microscopic bullets. Turns out it’s the mouthparts of these and similar leafhoppers. Another story is that it’s because they hop so fast and far when frightened. Neither makes a lot of sense, but both adults like this one, and also nymphs pierce plant stems and suck juice out for food. Only the adults can fly though and the wings really are this brightly colored. It’s a bit less than 1 cm long and very friendly, letting me get in its face and even crawling onto my finger for bit. A new species for me and one I’m glad I got to see up close.
Here’s another new one for me – a type of crab spider called Tmarus angulatus. After taking these photos and looking at her under a hand lens, I discovered what species and gender. I have another spider ID book coming so hopefully things get a little easier in future. She is tiny at under 1 cm with those legs. Like other crabbies, they are sit and wait predators and this one hung around the door and porch for a few days.
I decided to use my LED panel on an articulating arm attached to the hot shoe. By bending it around to the end of the lens, I can have light to bring out texture and modeling in these tiniest of critters. Check out why they have the name angulatus –
Unfortunately she disappeared rather suddenly and I hope she didn’t fall victim to the spider-hunting wasps that also hang around the front of the house and porch.
So many of these have artificial settings – sorry about that. Since the mosquitoes and biting flies are so ferocious all summer I hardly ever venture off the deck or out of the driveway. Luckily a lot of crawly guys come to me, like this spider –
Boy, was he ever quick! Always racing around in and out of the cracks in the deck floor. Not sure if he was looking for food or a mate, but either way he was a challenge to photograph. I think it’s a Hibana futilis species and judging by those pedipalps that look a bit like boxing gloves, a male.
More playing with light sources, this time the Godox flash which is on camera for this little bee. Not sure what kind it is, but it’s super small – just 7 or 8 mm total. They really appreciate the flowers I set out on the deck.
Oh geez are these ladies ever hard to catch! But I persisted and moved to the front yard for some much larger bees as they busied themselves on the Salvia and eventually got this photo of one of our larger bumblebees –
Something I had to do because of a slight delay in shutter and flash firing was to predict the bee’s movement as she worked the flower. They usually go around in a spiral up or down depending on where they start. Of course, not always, but if they fall into a rhythm, that’s how it goes and if I got lucky I could focus on an area just before she would get into it and I had a chance. So many shots go straight into the digital bin right away. This is the only one that worked.
Jeez, are you sick of bugs already?! I keep going out to experiment with different light sources that there are more and more and more photos. Here’s the last one – a tiny mayfly on the deck railing. It was actually in a vertical position, but I rotated it so you could see more detail. This is a single file, not a stack.
I believe it’s in the genus Stenacron, but apparently you need to dissect them under a microscope to determine the exact species. It’s a lovely pale yellow with a pink body and even with those whippy things on its butt it’s less than 2 cm long. Ok, the whippy things are tails, but my term is funnier.
Phew. Your time with the creepy crawlies is over.
For now.
Great shots! I also have been fascinated with bugs. Sometimes I see things on my monitor that I didn’t see when taking the photo — like an assemblage of tiny red mites on the back of a carrion beetle. I wondered if they were predating it, but I learned that they have a symbiotic relationship with the beetle. SO fascinating! Later, I found one of those mites on a Daddy Longlegs too.
Glad you enjoyed them. Could be part two coming together as well. Just can’t resist the little guys. Fished a longhorn beetle out of the water yesterday and it posed very nicely for me. I know what you mean about the mites and carrion beetles! I found one so covered in them that it could barely fly, but like you I discovered they don’t hurt it, just hitch a ride and help pave the way with dinner so to speak. I love finding them and other photobombers when I least expect it. One of the many joys of macro.
Another fun thing I observed when strolling thru my milkweed patch a few years ago were a host of bright red Milkweed Beetles. They were everywhere. Then I noticed that virtually all of them were mating. It’s as if Mother Nature had blown a whistle and said, “Go!”