Post your insects

[Franci]

Two Eristalis I shot earlier this month.
This is not the best view for identification, but I had other shots, which point to E. pertinax



This should be E. tenax

[Franci]

Hi Vanessa and Geoff, may be you can help me too. This little guy lives in the Alps, about 2000 m high, not far from a lake. It was its lucky day: two flies on its web, so it aimed for one



then, it comfortably "sat" for lunch

[Geoff F]

John, what lens are you using?

Extension tubes get you closer to the subject, if that is possible, hence a larger image. They work well with those longer lenses which have a 'macro option' but the minimum focus distance is between 2 and 4 feet.

I always use a tripod for macro work; and often use flash as well. My typical settings would be 1/200 F11 to F14 and Iso between 200 and 800, but as low as possible.

When using flash I set my camera with the manual controls then apply some flash output compensation; -1 to -2 would be typical.

And that bee is actually a hoverfly of the Eristalis family, similar to Francesca's photo. They are mimics of bees, but check out the difference in their antennae.

Francesca. Your first hoverfly isn't E. pertinax. Check the dark front and mid tarsi which should be yellow in pertinax. Going by the very wide dark face stripe I would suspect another E. tenax. But possibly something else which we don't get in the UK.

Your spider is, I think, something else which is strictly continental. I don't recognise it but will have a think later.

And my insect of the day . . .



A mating pair of Bombus lapidarius bumblebees in my garden. Possibly a little bit more focus depth could have helped but I was shooting this at F16 and there was too much movement from the excited male to allow for stacking of two shots.

[Geoff F]

Francesca. Just a thought about your spider. But a very rough guess.

The general appearance and web make me think about Araneidae family. Maybe one of the Larinioides if under 10 mm or Aculepeira up to 15 mm.

I'm not familiar with this group though, so merely a wild guess!

[Brownbear]

Although my bugs are not as beautiful as those posted on this thread, I will share a couple of interesting ones.. Photographed in Mexico a couple of years ago.

I'm not sure what this bug is but it's interesting looking.



Chicatanas - A big bottomed ant that I used to call J Lo ants... They arrive by the 1000s at the beginning of the rainy season and I was never very fond of them... In some parts of Mexico the local indigenous people still collect the ants for food and they are sold at the markets.



For more info on the ants see...

http://www.backyardnature.net/q/culonas.htm

[jdathebowler]

Thanks Geoff I would never have thought to Google Hover Fly.I always assumed that a Hover Fly was similar to a large fly.
The lens I used is a Canon EFS 18-55mm.I have used the extension tubes with the camera hand held but did have trouble with focusing.I was probably too near the subject with the lens.Is it acceptable to use the extensions hand held or should they always be used with a tripod?It is so nice to be able to submit an image or ask a question and know someone will reply with an answer or indeed constructive criticism in regard to the image if required.
John

[Franci]

Francesca. Just a thought about your spider. But a very rough guess.

The general appearance and web make me think about Araneidae family. Maybe one of the Larinioides if under 10 mm or Aculepeira up to 15 mm.

I'm not familiar with this group though, so merely a wild guess!

Thanks Geoff. Apparently Araneidae are very common in Trentino, so it might be Aculepeira armida - but definitely just a match based on statistics!
I attach a side view of the my presumed Eristalis pertinax: the abdomen has less yellow than most images I found for E. tenax, but of course you are right about legs.

[Letrow]

A big solitary bee we saw in the Jardin de Cadiot. At least twice the size of a normal bumblebee.





They are not aggressive as far as I can tell. One of the xylocopa I think.

[Letrow]

Great photos of that tarantula Vanessa. Do you happen to have close-ups of the eyes?
I am quite jealous of your subject.

[Wes Edens]

Wow, some of the pictures in this thread are simply stunning! Here's my not-nearly-as-good contributions







--------------------------------------------
wesedens.com

[Geoff F]

Firstly some quick notes on Eristalis identification. All black hind legs means E. tenax. Some yellow on the hind tibia and yellow toes on front and middle legs are E. pertinax. Some yellow on hind tibia and black toes (at lest well darkened) is one of the other species of Eristalis.

In that case, other elements have to be considered such as face stripe or other factors. Colouration is unreliable for identification with this family; although it may give an initial clue, providing allowance is made for differences between males and females.

John. Extension tubes are your only hope to get larger images with that lens, providing your models will allow you to approach closer!

The problem is that with any close focusing you will get a shallow area of sharp focus. This makes hand held shots difficult as slight variation in or out can take you past the sharp focus point.

A tripod will always produce better results, but that assumes you will be able to get close enough with your rig.

I have always found manual focusing while hand holding my camera to be difficult for macro work but AF risks accidentally focusing on the wrong area. What ever you do, expect a lot of rejects.

[Letrow]

The nice thing about swimming pools is that if you have blistering heat they are really good at cooling you down.

The disadvantage is the many insects that are attracted to the water, fly in and can't get out anymore. If possible I feel compelled to save them, so sort of scoop them up quickly (don't want to get stung) and fling them ashore.

The insect below is one of the saved.



In all probability a male dasypogon diadema

[jdathebowler]

Geoff your expertise is required please.Is this Hover Fly a female Eristalis arbustorum.
John

[Geoff F]

You can't tell from that angle, John. A female Eristalis species is as far as it goes.

E. arbustorum needs the face checking to rule out any dark stripe, down the face. They can sometimes have a slightly darked rubbed area there but that is obviously different from the other alternatives.

E. nemorum (previously E. interruptus) is virtually identical except that one has an easily recognisable face stripe. And there are other similar species.

Thickness of the hind tibia is another clue, but that needs a very close exact angle to see clearly.

Had another day in the woods today and found one of the Ichneumon Wasps flitting about in dappled sunshine. Another species which is virtually impossible to fully identify; and I couldn't get a perfect camera angle.

Standing on a steep slope next to a bramble patch with my tripod on only two legs does reduce the options a little. Anyway, this is one of the better shots (a lot of rejects though).



Compared with that, butterflies are easy.



Male Common Blue.

And a Wall Brown. If I can find it. Surely a photo can't fly out of my computer!

[Geoff F]

OK, found the original Wall Brown photo but don't know what has happened to the resized version. Then by the time I returned, my internet connection had turned off. Can't upload from Tinypics to a post edit, as far as I can see.

So here goes again - A Wall Brown butterfly.

[jdathebowler]

Thanks Geoff for the identification,a Female Eristalis species it will be.I didn't realise it was so difficult to get a true identity.A bit of white here and a patch of yellow there and you have a different species from what you originally you thought it was. I do like your Wall Brown Butterfly.
John

[Letrow]

I assume this is a Phyllopertha horticola

[Geoff F]

The trouble with those beetles, Peter, is that they do vary a bit in colour and there are several similar looking species.

I remember a similar question coming up in a wildlife site recently.

This German site is good for beetle identification http://www.kerbtier.de/cgi-bin/enFOverview.cgi

And a UK site which is good for details but not quite so comprehensive http://thewcg.org.uk/

[Cantab]

Peter, whatever type of beetle this is, they're attractive photos. It looks like the beetle (or something else) has done a good job of destroying the anthers!

[Letrow]

One of the butterflies from the Jardin de Cadiot



It looks very much like a maniola jurtina, but I am not absolutely sure.