Post your insects

[Geoff F]

The first one, Peter, is another Eristalis pertinax, with plenty of fine detail.

Those Andrena species of bees are a specialist subject so I'm not going to even consider an identification.

The last one is interesting. Those leg colours rule out several species, like E. pertinax or tenax, and that dark wing colour only applies to a couple of others. So I would seriously consider Eristalis horticola.

In the UK, the Hoverfly Recording Scheme are having a 'Big Hoverfly Watch' this week. So I have been out in the woods today; and a couple of interesting species to post sometime, after editing.

[rtbaum]

My first official bug shot, dang they move fast!!!!

[leebrit]

Been crawling around in the bushes on my belly amazing what you can find when you get down to the bugs level. My whole family thinks I am nuts crawling around in the yard.

[Letrow]

My first official bug shot, dang they move fast!!!!

They do move fast especially the bees and bumblebees. Hoverflies are sometimes easier.

[Letrow]

Been crawling around in the bushes on my belly amazing what you can find when you get down to the bugs level. My whole family thinks I am nuts crawling around in the yard.

Well...looking forward to some of your catches

[Letrow]

Flies

[Geoff F]

One to confuse you, Peter.



This bee mimic superficially resembles the Eristalis species which you often find; but it actually belongs to a different branch of the hoverfly family.

It is called Epistrope eligans and this is a female. Note the long wing vein which has a deep loop in Eristsalis but is almost straight with this species.

This one was between some overhanging leaves so I found it rather difficult to achieve a suitable angle.

[J4Cub]

I am very envious of the pictures that you all are able to get. I purchased a macro lens and the issue that I have with it is getting the picture in focus. It seems like the depth of field is so narrow that most times, what I want to capture is just slightly out of focus or what I call a soft focus. It looks good in the view finder but when I look at it on the big screen, it isn't. This is one of the better shots that I got when I was out yesterday. Any hints on insuring that everything is in focus?

[Letrow]

I am very envious of the pictures that you all are able to get. I purchased a macro lens and the issue that I have with it is getting the picture in focus. It seems like the depth of field is so narrow that most times, what I want to capture is just slightly out of focus or what I call a soft focus. It looks good in the view finder but when I look at it on the big screen, it isn't. This is one of the better shots that I got when I was out yesterday. Any hints on insuring that everything is in focus?

What aperture are you using for these shots? I use F/11 most of the time, because it allows me some decent shutterspeed with available (sun)light and I get soft focus as well, if you look away from the focus point. See my above flies for example.

Your shot looks fine, the flower itself is sharp enough in the center and as for the bee itself, maybe you should have tried for a focus point closer to the head. If you want more sharpness try for sunlight or a flash. Both enable you to set a higher aperture. I am not really fond of flash myself, but it will help some.

But they move quick, don't they?

[Letrow]

One to confuse you, Peter.



This bee mimic superficially resembles the Eristalis species which you often find; but it actually belongs to a different branch of the hoverfly family.

It is called Epistrope eligans and this is a female. Note the long wing vein which has a deep loop in Eristsalis but is almost straight with this species.

This one was between some overhanging leaves so I found it rather difficult to achieve a suitable angle.

The colouring is slightly different on this one that I shot this weekend. One in sunshine, a bit further off and the other with a cloud obscuring the sun, a bit closer by. It seems that on my hoverfly the black stripes almost connect through that narrow band, where yours seems to have separated colours really.

What do you think?





They are quite big as well (for hoverflies).

[Geoff F]

You have one of the exceptions there, Peter. The wing vein loop clearly puts it into the Eristalini camp but note those grey markings on the thorax.

That means Myathropa florea. And there shouldn't be anything else with those marks so it is usually a fairly easy one to identify.

I've been struggling to identify a few which I photographed on Saturday but finally got there, although some include the note poss.

And now for something different - a bee.



I think this is Andrena flavipes but the Andrena family is very tricky. Everytime I run it through the ID keys I get a different answer. Although I have heard it said that identification keys only really work for the person who wrote them.

With this image, I did remove a petal from another flower which was encroaching upon the scene, but I'm not sure if I should have left it alone.

[Letrow]

With this image, I did remove a petal from another flower which was encroaching upon the scene, but I'm not sure if I should have left it alone.

I can't really see what you removed Geoff, so I feel it looks fine like this. Nice sharp eyes.

[Letrow]

And here is one bee I shot this weekend Geoff. Three shots, all wrong



The two grass leaves are difficult to remove, but the bee itself is nice and sharp. I think I like this one best.



This could have been a great shot...if the end result had been a bit sharper. But they just won't stay still



Nice and sharp, but the wrong end of the bee

Ah well, so far not much of a summer here, but hopefully more bees on their way.

I am off to the UK fo a couple of days. We will visit a few gardens down in Sussex and maybe the weather gods will be good to us.

[Geoff F]

Yes, feeding bees are always tricky. Particularly when visiting those small flowers which only produce a little nectar, so the bee keeps flitting from one flower to another.

I find that auto focus is usually faster than my manual focusing but I usually end up focusing on the wrong area!

Had similar problems today when attempting to focus on an Oil Beetle. There were bits of grass and dead leaves in the way no matter what angle I tried. Eventually managed to delicately remove the offending bits and then, of course, the beetle decided to walk away deeper into the undergrowth!

[MKieran]

Hi )) here is my bee
hope u like it, I made it three years ago by using non professional camera

[Geoff F]

Those little bees are usually so fast moving, Marie, I find they are a struggle to focus.

And talking about being small and fast moving.

Here is what I think is a Celery Fly (Euleia heraclei) which is about 10 mm (3/8 ins) in length.





They are one of the Picture Winged Flies, so called because of the elaborate markings on their wings.

Males hold their wings outstretched and run about on a leaf in an attempt to attract females.

The larvae live inside the leaves of a number of plants, including celery.

[Tvedten]

[Letrow]

They are one of the Picture Winged Flies, so called because of the elaborate markings on their wings.

Nice detail on those eyes Geoff, beautiful little insect.

[Letrow]

Syrphidae



Fly (Sarcophaga as far as I can see)

I have to say that flies, when you see a macro, can be quite attractive to look at. Up till a couple of years ago I just found them annoying, especially when they came into the house. Now I still think they are annoying, but some of them do look beautiful.

[Geoff F]

Oh Dear, Oh Dear, Peter. You seem to be developing a knack for finding difficult hoverflies.

That one may superficially look like the bee mimic Eristalis family but I think it actually belongs to another group. Epistrophe I think, and E. grossulariae would be my first choice, but I really need to see the abdomen sides.

Plenty of excellent fine detail here. But what I want to know is; are those black abdomen bands slightly rounded forwards or backwards on the front edges, as they touch the abdomen edge?

They do also appear similar to the Syrphus family, but the black bands are straighter and the orange colour is darker and more intense.

And the fly is another tricky group. I won't touch the Sarcophagidae with regard to identification. It may resemble Sarcophaga carnaria but there are a number of almost identical alternatives.

However, the weather change today has had been out and shooting the wee beasties. Mostof them are identified now, so the detailed processing can start. I never like deleting sub standard shots until I achieve a firm identification as those poor shots can sometimes hold vital clues.