View allAll Photos Tagged NatureMacro
The genus Alyogyne is closely related to genus Hibiscus.
We have around 40 species of plants commonly called Hibiscus here in Australia, most of which are endemic.
This one being Alyogyne hakeifolia. Fine leaves surround these delicate, pretty blooms.
Growing to 3 m. Flower around 10 cm diameter.
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Aesop fable, The Grasshopper and the Ant.
HMM
The fable describes how a hungry grasshopper begs for food from an ant when winter comes and is refused. The situation sums up moral lessons about the virtues of hard work and planning for the future.
This poor chap blew in on the gale force winds yesterday, he's not dead yet and has many broken legs :-((
The common crow is a butterfly whose native range is South Asia down to here in Australia.
The caterpillar as seen here is distasteful to predators due to chemicals extracted from the latex of some types of food plants consumed.
Of interest are the eight paired fleshy appendages ('tentacles') found on the upper side of the second, third, fifth and eighth segments.
I observed that these retracted in to tight curls, then relaxed and unfurled and I understand that these are sensory organs. Perhaps also playing a role in confusing predators.
8 mm length.
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The brightly coloured and eye-catching American yellow fly agaric pushing up through the pine needles.
Amanita muscaria variety guessowii is found growing solitary or gregariously. It is mycorrhizal with conifers mostly (but also deciduous trees). It is found often in autumn in the northeast, from eastern Canada down to North Carolina and west to Michigan.
Cap around 14 cm diameter. Stipe 3 cm.
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With flowers of just 15 mm diameter, commonly known as native violet, Viola banksii is endemic to the east coast here in Australia, from south Queensland down to south New South Wales.
It is a spreading ground cover which prefers shady, moist areas and produces these charming, tiny white and purple flowers.
Flowers rise above the foliage to around 4 to 5 cm.
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NB: not captive.
A lovely Osmylops species lacewing was resting on a window. With camera settings and no flash, I was able to highlight its ephemeral, enchanting beauty against the dark background.
I learned that Osmylops represent a possibly more primitive kind of broad-winged nymphid that produce single-stalked eggs which yield flattened, disc-like, arboreal larvae.
This is a ventral view. 15 mm body length.
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Native to this country, but I believe introduced in to several others.
Commonly known as garden soldier fly and blue soldier fly.
Adults feed on nectar and pollen and their larvae feed on decaying vegetation.
15 mm length.
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Campanula portenschlagiana is an alpine campanula, native to the Dalmatian Mountains in Croatia. Forming a dense mat of small ivy-like leaves which become hidden beneath the mass of small purple bells in summer.
15 cm in height x 50 cm spread. Each flower just 20 mm in length and 15 - 20 mm in diameter.
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Vanessa kershawi, known commonly as the Australian painted lady, busy in my garden. Not a full dorsal shot, but lovely enough to share.
So pretty, the pale brown underwings and the delicate pattern of orange and brown on the upper wings, with tiny blue/lilac eyespots on the hind wings.
Australian painted ladies here in New South Wales migrate in great numbers in spring, moving on a front that extends for about 600 km inland from the coast. This migration can continue for up to eight weeks, with the main movement being in a south/south-westerly direction.
I gather males and females are virtually identical in form and markings, so not sure which I saw here.
Larvae feed on native everlastings and other daisies, as well as introduced plants such as this elfin herb (Cuphea hyssopifolia).
5 cm wingspan.
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Female jumping spider, ever alert, making her way through foliage.
Alert for danger, alert for a mate, alert for a potential next meal.
Dear little spiders, but supremely remarkable, efficient and successful hunters.
Maratus scutulatus 7 mm body length.
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Perhaps a juvenile/sub-adult, given her tiny size and just beginning to colour up.
A native orb weaving spider, found in the east of this country.
Argiope keyserlingi was given the common name St. Andrew's cross spider, due to the construction of bands of web silk that form the arms of an X-shaped cross, similar to the one upon which St. Andrew is traditionally said to have been crucified.
Female less than 10 mm body length.
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Harmonia conformis is one of our native ladybirds, commonly known as the large spotted ladybird, given its impressive size of around 7 mm. I wanted to try and portray that here.
It is a predator of other insects, eating aphids when at both larval and adult stage.
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A beautiful, bold jumping spider that I crossed paths with in Pennsylvania, USA. Also known as the daring jumping spider.
Of note here are the remarkable green chelicerae.
Male Phidippus audax 8mm body length.
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Apparently my photos are offensive to the macro photography community because I don't focus stack and I like dreamy shallow depth of field. I use a telephoto macro lens and a full frame sensor - even when stopped down there is still lot of shallow depth of field. I didn't realize my macro photos offend. I'm sorry, but is there some kind of gatekeeper to photos?! I'm so tired of this.
The sweet beginnings of a shaggy ink cap mushroom, having just pushed up from the earth. Just a few cm in height. Soon the bell- shaped cap will open out.
I wanted to record this initial stage before the stalk grew and the more classic mushroom shape development began.
I've learned some truly interesting words along the way, one of which is 'puhpowee'....a Native American Algonquian word for the force that causes mushrooms to push up and appear overnight.
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NB: image turned for artistic effect.
Ornithogalum is a genus of perennial plants mostly native to southern Europe and southern Africa.
Common names include Star of Bethlehem, orange star flower and sun star.
This plant features cone-shaped sprays of highly fragrant white flowers on fleshy green spears.
I've found that they make excellent cut flowers, lasting for several weeks at a time.
This is hybrid 'white princess'. Here we see the flowers beginning to open up from the base upward.
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A prolifically flowering and delightfully aromatic shrub.
Commonly known as mint bush, Prostanthera is a genus of around 100 species of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, and they all are endemic to this country.
This is specifically Prostanthera lasianthes x phylicifolia, Poorinda Ballerina.
These tiny flowers are just a few cm in diameter.
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Twirls and swirls of the unique Galpins conebush foliage...with a delightful female seed cone.
Leucadendron galpinii is a multi-stemmed, evergreen perennial with long, upright stems covered in silver-green foliage. A native of South Africa.
This is cultivar Purple Haze growing to 1.5 m. Seed cone diameter 20 mm.
Link to a more detailed seed cone macro: www.flickr.com/photos/112623317@N03/52509473858/in/datepo...
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Gazania is a genus of plants native to South Africa. They do well here in Australia due to similar latitudes and weather.
Gazania tomentosa is a very hardy, sun-loving ground cover with attractive silvery grey-green foliage that forms a thickly spreading mat.
Held above on short, stiff stalks are these wonderfully bright and sunny yellow flowers.
A popular plant due to their drought tolerance and ability to withstand difficult environments like coastal settings and poor soils.
Flower diameter 6 cm.
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The smallest Salsa sp. I've come across, just a few mm body length. Perhaps a male and/or juvenile.
Salsa is an Australasian genus of orb-weaver spiders.
I understand that S. brisbanae and S. fuliginata are so similar and with the same location range that only microscopic examination may determine the differences.
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The semi-crested katydid, Protina guttulata.
I've been advised by contributors to iNaturalist that this species is scarcely seen and considered rare.
A chance sighting in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.
Adult male, around 30 mm length.
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It may be officially autumn in these parts, but flora and fauna activity still abounds together with the warm weather - it is temperate Australia, after all.
Delights such as a native Avicenna species shield bug that I came across just a couple of days ago, making its way through foliage.
Cool little shield bug with its colourful spines.
This is a true bug; that is, one with piercing and sucking mouthparts.
Input from iNaturalist places this as a not so common Avicenna inquinata.
Around 10 mm in length.
Link to anterior appearance: www.flickr.com/photos/112623317@N03/53526914117/in/datepo...
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Natural habitat extends from south-eastern Queensland, down in to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Then also over in southern areas of Western Australia to a lesser degree.
Mating occurs during October or November and the males die shortly after. Females live for three months or more, waiting for the heat of summer to pass and the grass to grow before laying their eggs in early March. They lay their eggs directly onto several introduced and native grass species.
Seen on Melaleuca trichostachya.
Around 70 mm wingspan.
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Finally some new life popping up out there. Everything is still quite dull, grey, boring and dead so I tried to spice this one up. I really struggle with these kind of photos, I don't know how people get such awesome shots with the macro lens.
Seductively scented Jasmine with Monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) imbibing nectar. The poor Monarch has a damaged wing and its life-span will be even shorter... 4-Feb-2018
From what I'm reading, Valanga irregularis is the largest species of grasshopper in the world. Identification for this specimen is confirmed by the rear tibia being the same colour as the rest of the leg and the tibial spines being orange to red with black tips.
These grasshoppers can be found in the northern regions of our country - in the States of Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and extending down the east coast in to the mid to northern areas of New South Wales.
Around 80 mm in length.
Unfortunately, some detail lost on legs due to wide aperture, but tibial spines and colouration visible.
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The tiniest St. Andrew's Cross spider I've come across and yet a superb hunter from the start.
Female, body length just a few mm.
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This shot of a Syrphid hoverfly highlights the crucial role that flies play in pollination.
Pollen sticks to the hairs that cover the entire body and is then transferred from plant to plant.
Flies have been documented to be primary pollinators for many plant species, both wild and cultivated.
Seen here on native Callistemon.
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Pimelea ferruginea is an Australian native, found in coastal areas in the south-west of the country, in sandy and rocky soils.
This is a low, densely growing shrub which rarely exceeds 1 m in height by 1 to 2 m in width.
The small flower clusters seen here, occur at the ends of the branches. In this image, the flowers within the centre of the cluster have still to open.
The cluster is just 30 mm diameter, with each individual flower being tiny indeed.
This is variety 'white sparkle'.
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Anterior aspect flower macro of Grevillea lavandulacea 'Emily'.
The genus Grevillea contains plants with highly intriguing flowers and most of the several hundred species are native to this country.
G. lavandulacea is commonly known as lavender grevillea and is endemic to the south of Australia.
Each flower just a few cm in diameter.
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