Post your insects

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Originally Posted by terrib

These were taken last week. It was late in the morning so the sun is a little harsh.

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I like the first one Terri, nice composition and colours. The second one is ok, but the crop does not really work for me. Or maybe it is the angle of the butterfly.
I like the light, a bit of sunlight brightens up the colours as well I think.

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Originally Posted by purplehaze

If anyone can identify this chrysalis for me, I'd be grateful. I know nothing about insects, but am suddenly eager to learn. I'm in the market for good bug identification resources, if you have any to recommend. (I'm in the Canadian prairie region--central Canada.) C&C on the photo itself is also welcome, btw. Always. Love everyone's contributions. What worlds there are to discover through this medium! I feel like a kid again!


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7...464f9914_b.jpg

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I don't think it's a monarch, but maybe related?

Thank you, Peter. I think you are right. I thought the angle of the butterfly was somewhat novel, for a butterfly pic, and I cropped it to get a diagonal view. But with no real view of the butterfly wings and most everything else cropped out of the photo, there's not much color or contrast. I'll look at it from another perspective.

It may be my corrupted imagination, but this moth seems to mimic a bird dropping

http://i45.tinypic.com/24ctp1l.jpg

Not sure what this is, they were all over the place for about 5 days, and then they were gone. I shot this with my little Fuji F-20 P&S camera.

Looks just like some goose poo I almost sat in while trying to photograph the geese on our lake today. :D

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7...aea188d0_b.jpg
20120628-DSC_6468 by g.lang, on Flickr

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Originally Posted by rtbaum

It may be my corrupted imagination, but this moth seems to mimic a bird dropping

http://i45.tinypic.com/24ctp1l.jpg

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Not your corrupted imagination at all... this is a rather common camouflage... tons of insects, spiders, even some lizards use this coloration on a regular basis.

- Bill

That fly looks very interesting, Gary.

I would suspect it is Xanthogramma citrofasciatum female. One of the hoverflies.

Not sure about where you live but it is uncommon in the UK; I will find one or two on a good year, but none this year - which isn't surprising considering the weather.

And yes, I always check out lumps of bird poo. I have discovered a few interesting species that way.

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Originally Posted by Geoff F

That fly looks very interesting, Gary.

I would suspect it is Xanthogramma citrofasciatum female. One of the hoverflies.

Not sure about where you live but it is uncommon in the UK; I will find one or two on a good year, but none this year - which isn't surprising considering the weather.

And yes, I always check out lumps of bird poo. I have discovered a few interesting species that way.

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Thanks for that Geoff, I was trying to find out what this might be.

It was taken in my garden in Amsterdam, I see them often but they are just too quick to shoot sometimes.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2iwacmo.jpg

That shot, George, is a good candidate for a 'guess the species' competition.

Here is a fly that I always find difficult because the very reflective surfaces cause excessive hot spots. I had to grossly underexpose then recover what I could through editing.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2v0yjc2.jpg

One of the Soldier Flies, so called because it was thought that the colours resembled old soldier uniforms. There are quite a few species mostly in green, brown or black colours and all equally reflective.

This one is Chloromyia formosa female. Males are similar but have a brownish abdomen.

Damn bugs keep gettin' in my shots

http://i48.tinypic.com/t9jgpf.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/zvwq2p.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/2nq4d44.jpg

Bee

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7216/7...86393cc5_b.jpg

˙ʇɹoɟɟǝ ʇuǝɹɐppɐ ʎuɐ ʇuoɥʇıʍ uʍop ǝpıspu pןɹoʍ ɹuoʎ uɹuʇ uɐɔ uoʎ ɟı sǝɯıʇǝɯos ǝǝq ɐ ƃuıǝq uuɟ ǝq ʇsuɯ ʇı

I got a new zoom lens and of course no bug will now come near me :-& Anyway, this guy ventured up onto the porch with me and posed. Most of my grasshoppers are yellow-brown. This one's green-brown. I thought him handsome.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2vhzmes.jpg

I have shown photos of the UK Scorpion Fly before, but here is one having his lunch.

http://i50.tinypic.com/352lo48.jpg

I took several angles but thought this view with it's tail slightly blurred actually makes it look more menacing.

But actually harmless - unless you are a small fly.

John. I sometimes find insects are rather wary of me if I get too tensed up about photographing them. They seem to be able to recognise that and regard it as a potential threat.

The best way around this, at least for me, when they are a bit skittish, is to start photographing flowers or birds instead. They tend to relax and come closer then.

''Don't touch me!''

http://i45.tinypic.com/11kumme.jpg

A rather spiky caterpillar. Probably a Ruby Tiger Moth.

The head is on the right - possibly. :rolleyes:

Tried to capture this little beauty today. She didn't want to sit still, but I finally got a couple of acceptable photos. Don't know what kind, but very pretty.

http://i48.tinypic.com/2ry4piu.jpg

Side view. Still having trouble getting things into focus. Maybe a tighter strap or better eyepiece :-)

http://i49.tinypic.com/ic2u5x.jpg

This guy was more than willing to sit still. He even looks tired. For some reason, he reminds me of that old print showing a tired Indian on his horse looking at the sunset.

http://i45.tinypic.com/npjlg4.jpg