You Like Me?

[Stagecoach]

I have been somewhat inactive with photography lately due to commitments but could not resist getting the gear out today for this friendly young lady

You like me?



Ok, here's another pose.



105VR, 1/250s, f/25 and f22 respectively, ISO100, tube either 36 or 20mm

Grahame

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Grahame,

Seems to be a cooperative model

Good captures.

A question: can you tell me if the dot moves depending where (you imagine) she's looking?
Does it 'follow' you? (or the camera), I might draw the conclusion from looking at these that it does.

I kinda understand how compound eyes work (seeing all angles at same time) and the pigmentation that gives them coloured patterns (e.g. think of butterflies), but I do not understand a 'biological need' (in some insect species) for the pigment to be where they are concentrating/'looking' - if indeed they do.

However, perhaps it is to do with defence/self preservation? Puzzled.

Thanks, Dave

[Stagecoach]

Hi Dave,

That dot certainly moves and all the time I'm working with these they seem to follow me (or the camera lens) constantly. I have shots taken at the rear of the head and the dots there aimed at me again

I'm not sure of the purpose of the dot but wonder if it in some way concentrates the all round vision at one direction, but it appears a bit out of line.

Still watching me.

[Ziggy]

Very nice captures of the Mantis.

[Rebel]

Awesome shots Grahame!

[Shadowman]

Nice, those buggers are always so amusing looking.

[purplehaze]

Great shots, Grahame. I was curious about the black dot, so I looked it up. The black dot is a pseudopupil. The best lay (i.e., understandable to me) explanation I found was this (about the fiddler crab):

The ommatidia that “look” in the direction of the observer appear black because no light is reflected back. As one looks at a compound eye from different directions, different groups of ommatidia appear black.

The shape of this pseudo-pupil changes with the local radius of the eye: in a spherical eye it is approximately round, but it becomes elongated in the direction of the largest local radius in an elongated eye. More ommatidia look into the same angle in vertical, compared to horizontal directions.

More here.

[Jimr1961]

I used to get a kick out of raising Praying Mantis every year. The eeriest thing about them to me is that they can turn their head. There are not too many insects that turn their head to stare down the person behind them.

Great shots Grahame.

[Dave Humphries]

I was curious about the black dot, so I looked it up.

Thanks Janis, you found something far better than I did when I tried looking up 'compound eye' a few moths back.

Now I understand; it is nothing to do with where they are looking, which is everywhere, as I gleaned last time, the mechanism of the pseudopupil apparently 'following' you is just like the effect viewing the ends of a side lit box of coloured straws with no light from behind them. It's only dark where you see through to the other end, those viewed at an angle appear brighter.

e.g.

(Image hosted at BBC News - likely sent in by a viewer)

There are some good, short animations in your link.

Thanks again, Dave

[Barbara Ponder]

Great set! He is cute!

[bnnrcn]

Great set Grahame and the last one is so cute May I ask how you made the BG so dark in #2?

[Bobobird]

Yes I like. Well shot Grahame.

[Rita]

Nice shots Grahame. The faces on these insects are always fascinating to me. Wish we had them in my area.

[Stagecoach]

Dave, Jim, Matt, John, Janis, Jim, Barbara, Binnur, Bobo and Rita

Thank you all for the comments, these guys certainly woo their audience

Dave, Janis

Thanks for the info and links regarding the 'black spot'. This still intrigues me in that the darker area rarely coincides with where you would expect it to be taking account of the spherical eye and viewing position/plane of the camera. I intend to find my model and study this further in natural light

May I ask how you made the BG so dark in #2?

Binnur, in this shot there was nothing behind what you see for quite a distance but I also mistakenly underexposed it somewhat due to the greater subject to camera distance and lack of power from the 2 x SBR-200s fitted with diffusers.

[JBW]

She is such a flirt!

[Brownbear]

Love your mantis's as always...

[Wandjina]

"It's not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold-
or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy being green."
Kermit

[Stagecoach]

She is such a flirt!

I was worried it might have been just my imagination Brian

[Stagecoach]

Love your mantis's as always...

Thanks Christina.

Yep, wonderful little pals

[Stagecoach]

"It's not that easy being green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold-
or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy being green."
Kermit

Good one Martin