2307_2054 Jagged Ambush Bug
New image set starting today: a dive into the insect world, as I experienced it this summer. When bird behaviour slows down following breeding season, and mammals are lying low because of the heat, insects come into their own.
First little subject: a Jagged Ambush Bug on a thistle flower. This is a true bug - most insects aren't bugs - in the order Hemiptera, a subfamily of Assassin Bugs. It has large grasping forelegs to snatch prey - often insects much larger than itself - which it then pierces with beaklike mouth parts. Here in Saskatchewan they're generally yellow or green; if they come in other colours, their camouflage is too perfect for me to find them. Even when they don't blend in perfectly, they may be able to fool insects with compound eyes - flies and bees, for example - that can mistake them for flower parts.
These bugs are very tiny, about 8-11 mm in length. Viewed through the macro lens, they look monstrous. Each summer, in late July and early August, I search my favourite ditches for them. If I find one, a slow approach with the macro lens often works - they don't seem to notice. If I'm at the bottom of a ditch, which is often the case, I'll usually hand hold, because the tripod is too unwieldy, the legs tending to get entangled in weeds. Like the bug itself, stealth works best.
The biggest photographic problem here was the breeze. Photographers from eastern Canada who visit here and like to shoot a lot of macro have told me the prairie breezes drive them crazy. It's true. You have to wait for a calm day, or hour, or moment. They do happen, but patience is required.
Photographed in my favourite ditch at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2307_2054 Jagged Ambush Bug
New image set starting today: a dive into the insect world, as I experienced it this summer. When bird behaviour slows down following breeding season, and mammals are lying low because of the heat, insects come into their own.
First little subject: a Jagged Ambush Bug on a thistle flower. This is a true bug - most insects aren't bugs - in the order Hemiptera, a subfamily of Assassin Bugs. It has large grasping forelegs to snatch prey - often insects much larger than itself - which it then pierces with beaklike mouth parts. Here in Saskatchewan they're generally yellow or green; if they come in other colours, their camouflage is too perfect for me to find them. Even when they don't blend in perfectly, they may be able to fool insects with compound eyes - flies and bees, for example - that can mistake them for flower parts.
These bugs are very tiny, about 8-11 mm in length. Viewed through the macro lens, they look monstrous. Each summer, in late July and early August, I search my favourite ditches for them. If I find one, a slow approach with the macro lens often works - they don't seem to notice. If I'm at the bottom of a ditch, which is often the case, I'll usually hand hold, because the tripod is too unwieldy, the legs tending to get entangled in weeds. Like the bug itself, stealth works best.
The biggest photographic problem here was the breeze. Photographers from eastern Canada who visit here and like to shoot a lot of macro have told me the prairie breezes drive them crazy. It's true. You have to wait for a calm day, or hour, or moment. They do happen, but patience is required.
Photographed in my favourite ditch at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.