2018 Project 52, 2nd quarter by Rudi

[rudi]

Thanks John.

[rudi]

week 23: I spotted this Dungfly early morning, clinging on to some grassflowers. Thought at first it was alive, but closer inspection revealed it was dead, took it indoors for a few close ups...

1: 7DII bellows/rev50m@+/-3x; tripod/Manfr454; Edges cropped; 65 frames stacked



2: 7DII bellows/rev50m@+/-5x; tripod/Manfr454; Edges cropped; 92 frames stacked



C&C welcomed

[Geoff F]

Any other images, such as legs and wings which would enable an identification, Rudi?

Part of identification includes a close inspection of the face bristles and which way they face; which are perfectly clear here. Scathophaga identification starts with 'how many bristles are attached to the sternopleuron'.

My quick guess based on the antennae colour would be Yellow Dung Fly - Scathophaga stercoraria.

[Shadowman]

Week 23, nicely captured.

[skitterbug]

#2 wins it for me! Detailed and sharp!

[rudi]

Thanks all for the comments.

@Geoff: I also belief it is a Yellow Dung Fly. Picture nr 3 is the best where you can see some wing and leg detail... I should have taken some shots from the other side too....
3: The bigger picture...

[FootLoose]

Fascinating images, Rudi. Looking at macro shots of bugs is like looking at stills for aliens from sci-fi movies.

[rudi]

Fascinating images, Rudi. Looking at macro shots of bugs is like looking at stills for aliens from sci-fi movies.

Thanks Greg. In my younger days I liked looking at sci-fi movies, maybe hence my interest in macro shots...

[rudi]

week 24 : A common horsefly, Haematopota (probably pluvialis), about 15 mm bodylength. Their bites can be a PITA, but the eyes are so beautifull….More detailed shots to come, iff I can find a suitable specimen...

1: A live specimen,shot in dark undercover early morning:
7DII mpe65@+/-3x; f8 1/200 iso400; Diff MT24EX-ETTL; HH_Edges cropped; 7fr stacked in Zerene



C&C welcomed

[skitterbug]

Another "WOW". I opened your thread and actually jumped! No wonder their bites hurt! In my opinion, the best ones are flat ones! <chortle> But this is an excellent photo! I look forward to more! <yep>

[Geoff F]

At least only the females, like this one, bite. You are quite safe with any males.

Plenty of fine detail there but that is making me wonder if it is H. pluvialis ? There should be a distinct notch on the outer end of the first antennal segment. The first segment here seems shorter and more swollen, without the notch. Possibly more like H. bigoti which is more of a European species

[Cantab]

Rudi, another great image.

I noted that this shot of a live specimem has "only" 7 frames instead of your usual 50 or 90 but how did you convince the fly to stay still with a camera aimed at it for anything more than 1 frame?

[joebranko]

Another amazing set of pics! Your work continues to impress.

[Urbanflyer]

Wow is worth saying again. Great stuff!

[billtils]

The eyes have it! A super shot from a small stack, and presumably hand-held ?

[rudi]

Thanks all for the comments, much appreciated.

@Sandy: I have been looking out for a life specimen for a long time... they usually get 'smashed' as soon as they bite...

@Geoff: Thanks for pointing out the ID issue (changed the name...): I thought this was easy to ID by myself, no need to ask a specialist.....wrong again..Next time I will look a bit further than my too comprehensive booklet...
H. pluvialis has a partly shiny black first antennal segment. H. bigoti seems to have a reddish-yellow sheen to it. H. bigoti is a more coastal species, needs 'salty' marshes, so probably not showing up at our place...
I have no pictures from the abdomen, which also seems important for proper ID.


@Bruce: Most off the life specimens are shot early morning, so they are in a lethargic state. Oftentimes they move, disappear, or drop onto the ground when I try to 'clear' the area a bit.
But this one was very cooperatif, perhaps it tought off me as a 'generous blood donor'
Being very close to the ground, setting up the tripod would have been very difficult. But with hindsight I should have done it as most off the pictures were not sharp enough, due to my instability...
I took a lot more pictures for a much deeper stack, but ended up using only 7.

@Bill: yes it was handheld (see HH in exif ). But I wish I had setup the tripod, because it was the first horsefly I encountered that did not move at all...until it was warmed up a bit...