• Politics are not permitted. There's plenty of places to discuss that elsewhere, and a hot pepper forum is not the place. Thank you for respecting the community!

The thread of Creepy Crawlies

These guys are more cute than creepy-crawly.  Pretty sure they're some flavor of bee.
They LOVE my peppers; hundreds of them congregate during the afternoon, landing on the leaves or forming small clouds immediately downwind of the plants.
 
They are tiny, with a body about 4,~4.5mm long.  Call it 5.5mm with the antennae. 
 
KillerBee.jpg

 
KillerBee2.jpg
 
Ahh cool, I didn't realise there was a creepy crawly thread here on THP :party:
I've been into bug/spider photography for a few years now, I've got the Sigma 150 macro, Canon MPE 65 1-5 macro and also the Canon Macro TwinLite
Here are some of mine:
 
Crab spider:
755u.jpg


Damn ants farming dirty rotten aphids:
uurb.jpg


z8c1.jpg


Ladybug to the rescue, die you evil aphids:
nvae.jpg


Net casting spider AKA Ogre faced spider: this guys stays motionless until an unsuspecting critter walks nearby and then he throws his net at them to catch a feed.

kwgh.jpg

 
Here's a closeup of the same spider, looks pretty goofy imo from this angle, not really Ogre faced.
dskj.jpg

 
This shot shows why it's called Ogre faced. Thank god they're small and totally harmless. This is a 6 image focus stack.
ydvk.jpg

 
Cheers,
Andrew
 
Geonerd said:
Found one of these ugly buggers on my plants!
Mesquite Bug. They supposedly limit their diet to sucking the sap out of local trees.
Click to expand...
 
Great shot, mate. :P  Looks similar to an assassin bug.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
Amazing MACRO shots Andrew, love bug photography and need to get into stacks myself! Now if only the wind would go away...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Chris. Yer, the wind is a PITA for macro shooting.
 
Here's a little series I captured a while back  - Mother nature is brutal !
This jumping spider (Opisthoncus parcedentatus) is out n about looking for lunch.
wDcr6je.jpg

 
He pounces on an unsuspecting doli fly. (Dolichopodidae)
9zvmE5E.jpg

 
He hasn't yet been able to subdue the struggling doli fly.
MNtbHrK.jpg

 
After a short but epic struggle, the spider rips the head off the hapless doli fly.
tIL8128.jpg

 
To the victor....a hearty meal!
EqHUah7.jpg
 
I found some gigantic beetle. It wasn't afraid of me, and in fact reared up when I got near it. When I tried to put it in a jar, it turned and tried to bite. Had no problem with a smallish stick being bitten in half. Pics when the camera guy finishes dinner.
 
sp33d said:
What camera and setup do you use Joyner and nucleardays?
Click to expand...
Nothing special...Canon 7D and 100MM MACRO - just use natural light and none of those fancy flashes. One day I can afford the cool toys :)
 
Nuc posted above.... ---- I've been into bug/spider photography for a few years now, I've got the Sigma 150 macro, Canon MPE 65 1-5 macro and also the Canon Macro TwinLite
 
Female Bronze Aussie jumping spider. (Helpis minitabunda)
LZd1VWT.jpg

 
Male Bronze Aussie jumping spider. (Helpis minitabunda)
YdSE93A.jpg

 
The above two spiders 'making baby spiders'. In laymans terms the male spider puts sperm on his pedipalps (the feelers next to his fangs) and inserts it into the female spider.
I got lucky with this shot because this is the actual umm err ... 'money shot'.
kyckerO.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top