Sminthurinus reticulatus
After not seeing these for a while locally, there are now quite a few once more. I suspect that the moisture levels in the leaf litter is "just right" again.
I would have confidently called this Sminthurinus reticulatus in the past, but Frans Janssens advises me that unless the reticulate pattern contains significant levels of black pigmentation, they should be called Sminthurinus aureus forma reticulata. Whatever the name, it's lovely to see them again! This one ~0.7mm.
Canon 1D3 + MP-E 65mm Macro (at x5) + MT24-EX Flash (-2/3 FEC). Cropped a bit.
[Update: Frans reckons that the pattern on this is sufficiently dark for this to be Sminthurinus reticulatus. Thanks Frans.]
Sminthurinus reticulatus
After not seeing these for a while locally, there are now quite a few once more. I suspect that the moisture levels in the leaf litter is "just right" again.
I would have confidently called this Sminthurinus reticulatus in the past, but Frans Janssens advises me that unless the reticulate pattern contains significant levels of black pigmentation, they should be called Sminthurinus aureus forma reticulata. Whatever the name, it's lovely to see them again! This one ~0.7mm.
Canon 1D3 + MP-E 65mm Macro (at x5) + MT24-EX Flash (-2/3 FEC). Cropped a bit.
[Update: Frans reckons that the pattern on this is sufficiently dark for this to be Sminthurinus reticulatus. Thanks Frans.]