A couple of wasps in our garden

[DanK]

I'm allergic to wasps, so I usually stick with bees, but these two were interesting, and neither seemed interested in me except as something to flee from. C&C welcome, as always. The first two were 100mm + 36 mm extension. I did the last without extension.

Two views of a wasp on echnicea. This poor lady wasn't well and barely moved while I kept shooting her. If you look very closely, you can see bits of a small bug as well as pollen in her mandibles. I haven't been able to identify it. The abdomen was unusually thin compared to other, similar- looking wasps.





This is a very different wasp in asclepius. I think it might be a great golden digger wasp. There were several of them, but they were very skittish, and I never managed to get a shot with which I was all that satisfied. This was the best, despite the glare and slightly soft eyes.

[Barbara Ponder]

Nice set Dan! Love the colors!

[Shadowman]

Nice set.

[IzzieK]

O M G!!! these looks very close sure enough...thanks for the tips about the extension...I have a lot of these fellas in my hummingbird feeder but these silly buggers spray away once they see me approach them... and they are all out in full sun when it was going 97°F at 120°F heat index...I was hoping for shade on a lower temp but they like sunshine. Darn!

[John 2]

Nice series Dan , the last one in particular for me. I suspect that the head and eye might selectively sharpen.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Dan, #3 for me just because its different, well done mate!

[DanK]

Thanks all. I also think the digger wasps are beautiful. They are solitary as well as very skittish, so I don't see many. I captured this one because of an ascelpius tuberosa, a kind of milkweed. We have increasingly planted native plants, which attract native pollinators. One might not expect this, but some native pollinators won't feed on some nonnative plants. This one we planted because Monarch butterflies are in a bad way, and asclepius is one of their primary foods. It hasn't attracted any Monarchs yet, but has attracted an amazing number of other pollinators, including these. I sometimes see two or three of these on the one bush at a time, scattered about in a throng of honeybees, bumblebees, sweat bees, and a few pollinating flies and the occasional butterfly. So if you live in an area where these are native, and if you want pollinators to photograph, this might be just what you need. We are going to plant at least one more.

[bnnrcn]

Great shots Dan, lovely colors, my fav is #3 May I ask what lens you used while shooting those, only a macro lens or was there also an extension tube ?

[DanK]

Great shots Dan, lovely colors, my fav is #3 May I ask what lens you used while shooting those, only a macro lens or was there also an extension tube ?

Binnur,

thanks. I do all of my bug shots with a 100mm macro lens, usually on a crop body for higher pixel density. These days, I usually go out with a 36mm extension tube, and I often try to shoot at or close to minimum working distance. That makes for an even shorter working distance than without a tube, however, so when I think I won't need it, I skip the tube. The first two here were taken with that tube. I took it off for the third one. The digger wasps are large enough that I didn't really need it, and they are skittish enough that it is hard to get close anyway.

One drawback of this is that it takes some time to add or remove a tube this large. Using the rig I showed in this thread, Dragonfly post 15, I have to readjust the flash position and reverse the tripod ring, all of which takes a few minutes.

Dan

[bnnrcn]

Thanks for the info Dan. As far as I can see from your set up you use the same lens as David (deetheturk) uses.It seems to be a very good lens as both you and David are happy with it and it sure creates wonders together with your talent

Binnur,

thanks. I do all of my bug shots with a 100mm macro lens, usually on a crop body for higher pixel density. These days, I usually go out with a 36mm extension tube, and I often try to shoot at or close to minimum working distance. That makes for an even shorter working distance than without a tube, however, so when I think I won't need it, I skip the tube. The first two here were taken with that tube. I took it off for the third one. The digger wasps are large enough that I didn't really need it, and they are skittish enough that it is hard to get close anyway.

One drawback of this is that it takes some time to add or remove a tube this large. Using the rig I showed in this thread, Dragonfly post 15, I have to readjust the flash position and reverse the tripod ring, all of which takes a few minutes.

Dan

[DanK]

Thanks, Binnur. Very kind.