Another look at the Marpissa muscosa I found in Valkenburg. This is a fairly large Salticidae and a very attractive one at that, this is a two frame stack using CombineZP, I've had to crop a bit as not all of the stack lined up, still love those eyes :)

Just to give you an idea, this guy was eating a Wolf Spider and was halfway up a fence post (On the wrong side as well), wish I could have done a thorough stack it would have been awesome :)

Undercoat:

Citadel - Corax White Primer

Green Skin:

1. Citadel - Castellan Green

2. Citadel - Athonian Camoshade

3. Citadel - Castellan Green (DB)

4. Citadel - Castellan Green & Kislev Flesh

5. Citadel - Castellan Green & Elysian Green (DB)

6. Citadel - Elysian Green (HL)

7. Citadel - Athonian Camoshade

8. Citadel - Waywatcher Green

Brown Skin:

1. Citadel - Kislev Flesh

2. Citadel - Kislev Flesh & Athonian Camoshade (Transition)

3. Citadel - Bugman's Glow (DB)

4. Citadel - Reiklan Fleshshade (Shade)

5. Citadel - Kislev Flesh (HL)

Eyes:

1. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab

2. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab & Trollslayer Orange

3. Citadel - Trollslayer Orange & Yriel (HL)

4. Citadel - Yriel Yellow (HL)

5. Citadel - Yriel Yellow & White Scar (HL)

Tongue:

1. Citadel - Bugman's Glow & Steel Legion Drab

2. Citadel - Bugman's Glow (HL)

Tattoo:

1. Citadel - Rhinox Hide

2. Citadel - Rhinox Hide & Steel Legion Drab (HL)

Tail Scar:

1. Citadel - Mephiston Red & Steel Legion Drab

2. Citadel - Mephiston Red

3. Citadel - Mephiston Red & Evil Sunz Scarlet (HL)

1. Citadel - Stirland Mud

2. Toad Kings Castings - Skull & Bone Sheet

3. Citadel - Abadonn Black (Watered Down)

4. Citadel - Mechanicus Standard Grey (Dry Brushed)

5. Citadel - Longbeard Grey (Dry Brushed)

6. Citadel - Zandri Dust

7. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

8. Citadel - Zandri Dust

9. Citadel - Zandri Dust & Ushunti Bone (Highlight)

10. Citadel - Ushunti Bone (Highlight)

here's a taste of the seven sins

driven to distraction, waiting on your call.

i am getting trigger happy but it doesn't help at all.

no, and i can't even think, with you still in my head.

no, and i cannot do anything, i want you in my head.

envy, envy, envy.

breathless, weak i'm distracted, i wanna get under your skin.

a fever, you leave my mouth dry, but, i can't do anything.

can't stop this burning from within.

c'mon baby, c'mon baby, c'mon baby, c'mon.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ-m7kRi87I

OK second one is Envy, like greed, Envy (Latin, invidia) may be characterized by an insatiable desire; they differ, however, for two main reasons:

First, greed is largely associated with material goods, whereas envy may apply more generally.

Second, those who commit the sin of envy resent that another person has something they perceive themselves as lacking, and wish the other person to be deprived of it.

Dante defined this as "a desire to deprive other men of theirs." Envy can be directly related to the Ten Commandments, specifically "Neither shall you desire... anything that belongs to your neighbour". In Dante's Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as "sorrow for another's good".

Pride- Violet

Envy- Green

Gluttony- Orange

Lust- Blue

Wrath- Red

Greed- Yellow

Sloth- Light Blue

This was my other new addition to the list I found yesterday Entomobrya albocincta, these guys are seriously quick and led me a merry dance on the wooden fence I found them on, talk about hyperactive, this was the only decent shot I managed, I gave up after I captured this individual LOL :o)

These are common in the UK and can be found under bark, on plants and wooden fences LOL. They can grow to up to 2.2mm in length and have very distinctive markings.

Thanks to Frans for telling me about this website, on this page there is a list of confirmed Collembola present in the UK and Ireland.

ws1.roehampton.ac.uk/collembola/taxonomy/index.html

I have a long way to go to find an example of each of these LOL :o)

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Finally managed a decent shot of a Field Grasshopper, I think this is a male. good ID indicators are that it has an angled keel and is hairy under the thorax. This one was very friendly and allowed me to photograph it with my MP-E at x1 magnification. I had been trying to photograph these earlier in the day, but they weren't having it, so I went back later in the day and they seemed a bit more sedate.

I went to Newstead Abbey today, hoping to get a few Dragons on flowers, but no luck there, saw plenty, but could not get near to any and none on flowers. Anyway, was a very pleasant day and the weather was fine. Did resort to a few Collembola shots, you have been warned LOL. Then I found this later in the afternoon, so Collembola images on hold LOL :o)

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Another afternoon with the Damselflies at Wollaton Park, still many Teneral Common Blues hanging around or attempting to conceal themselves with their stealth shields LOL :)

That's not its scientific name, but I haven't been able to ID this one...

I found four of them inside a dried reed stem on the banks of the river. It would have made quite a nice image, all huddled together like that but, of course, as I had disturbed them they decided to go off exploring, each heading in a different direction.

This is the smallest shield bug I have come across and looks to be a full grown adult (it has the classic shield shape) or at least a late instar so I don't imagine they grow much larger than this.

Anyway, if anyone can help identify I would be most grateful. More images in the comments below.

Edit: Looks to be Eysarcoris ventralis or White-Spotted Bug. Eddie The Bugman to the rescue!

5 images @ ~2X magnification

My first uber close up of a male Banded Demoiselle, it was just cold enough yesterday to find one happy enough to sit still for a portrait, aren't they stunning :)

Had a great day today. Not only did I manage to dedicate a full Had a great day today. Not only did I manage to dedicate a full day to macro photography, I also got to meet up with some flickr friends and collembola experts.

I was on the hunt for exotic collembola under the guidance of Eddie The Bugman , andybadger and Paul Ardron. Paul wrote a very interesting article about the invasive species to be found at Sheffield Botanical Gardens, which first attracted Eddie. He's subsequently managed to build up quite a collection of what are thought to be non-native species and was kind enough to show us where they can be found.

These are just one of the species of exotic Katiannidae that can be found here. I was pleased to find another species to add to my own collection, but more importantly I enjoyed finally getting to meet up with my internet friends and discuss all things collembola. Thanks chaps; I look forward to our next get together!

A different individual to the Last Emperor (no pun intended), I decided to try out my 1000D with the 400mm and 36mm extension tube, I just wanted to see how much more of a frame filler I would get (Well yes 1.6x obviously LOL), quite pleased with the results though, would like to try with a 60D or something like that. This male is starting to show some slight wear and tear in the wings :o)

I'm off out know to try and get some late afternoon Damselfly shots, would of gone out this morning, but I did not sleep last night, it was so darned HOT. Hope everyone has had a great Sunday :o)

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Really pleased to find another one of these Globular Springtails. These guys are potentially easy to overlook as initially they resemble some of the Dicyrtomina sp, but on comparing the ocelli(eyes) there is an immediate difference, with Calvatomina nr superba there is a difference in pigmentation, see comments.

Only found this one individual on a fence in woodland, I was actually looking for Katiannidae, but found this instead :o) This is possibly an introduced species, as it closely resembles a species found in New Zealand.

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A while back I posted an image of a male Meadow Grasshopper, so I thought I'd better post the female of the species. I know she is a female due to the greatly shortened wings and I know she is a Meadow Grasshopper due to the gentle curve of the keel and she was in a meadow LOL :o)

This fine lady was all too eager to pose for me. I was almost shooting into the sun here, I think that is what has given the light bokeh between the grass, I think the sun was reflecting off the metal bench. I used fill in flash here, if I had shot without flash she would be more of a silhouette.

Anyway, I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I should really get myself out, a bit cloudy out there today :o)

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Well this was a turn up for the books, I went back to see if I could capture more Sminthurides aquaticus egg laying behaviour. Guess what, Sminthurides nr. penicillifer were on the Duckweed instead, so I sat and watched and sure enough I witnessed and photographed one individual in the process of egg laying.

It seems that Sminthurides nr. penicillifer has a very similar egg laying strategy to Sminthurides aquaticus:-

Here she is laying a single egg, notice the egg is yellow in this species. This was a 2 image focus stack.

Really pleased to see this mini miracle and especially in such a rare Collembola :o)

Lots of these guys ambling around today, this is Pantilius tunicatus a member of the Miridae family, it is a late season Bug and can be found from September-October, this species is about 8-10mm in length, quite a colourful species this one.

Wiki says :-

Pantilius tunicatus is a species of bugs in Miridae family that could be found in the Baltic states, Faroe Islands, Finland, Italy, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Eastern, Central, and Western Europe (except for Portugal). The species feed on hazel and usually are found on the lowest branches of it. The species doesn't appear till September.

A rather nice day today, blue skies, but cold and everso windy to start with, spent the day at Wollaton and saw loads of great stuff :o)

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I usually see this distinctive Ground Beetle (5-6mm) on the ground or under stones or rotting wood. This one was running about on top of a fence post, I found if you tapped the wood then it would freeze for a brief moment, this tapping trick can work with a few insects.

I liked this better than my last shots of this big eyed beauty as the wood on the fence supplied a nicer contrast and showed off it's lovely bronze elytra.

Notiophilus biguttatus is a small species of ground beetle native to the Palearctic. First described by Fabricius in 1779.

In Europe, it is found in Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the British Isles, Bulgaria, Corse, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, mainland Danemark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, mainland France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, mainland Italy, Kaliningrad, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Northern Ireland, mainland Norway, Poland, mainland Portugal, Russia, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, mainland Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.

It has also been introduced to North America with Canadian records for both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and British Columbia

It's April and I set out on a top secret mission to bag my first Dragon, I walked for miles along the Grantham Canal, I had read about a certain stretch, so off I set. I walked from Plungar to Redmile and just as I walked under the canal bridge at Redmile something caught my eye, a male Hairy Dragonfly, Brachyton pratense, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED :)

I did see another, but it didn't want to play, not sure what it was either, looked almost yellow from a distance :)

Dreamy blue shrimp - Neocaridina davidi

This photo was taken the day i added these to my 15L planted aquarium!

These are very cool and not often seen in the hobby yet. they are very easy to care for and breed very quickly. The fact that they like to eat algae has made shrimp a important part of any planted aquarium!

I you would like to know more about the Desktop planted aquarium check out the YouTube playlist i have here - youtu.be/AqaBWJeONLU

I found this Darkling Beetle under a small piece of wood, I tried a few stacks and this partial stack of 3 images was the best of the bunch, this one kept moving appendages every so often :0)

Darkling beetles (also known as darkening beetles) are a family of beetles found worldwide, estimated at more than 20,000 species. Many of the beetles have black elytra, leading to their common name. Apart from the 9 subfamilies listed here, the tribe Opatrini of the Tenebrioninae is sometimes considered a distinct family, and/or the Pimeliinae are included in the Tenebrioninae as a tribe Pimeliini.

Darkling beetles eat both fresh and decaying vegetation. Major predators include birds, rodents, sunspiders, and lizards. Some species live in the dry Namib desert and have evolved modifications that help them collect water from the fog that condenses on their elytra.

The larval stages of several species are cultured as feeder insects for captive insectivores, and include the very commonly known mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) and superworms (Zophobas morio), and the lesser-known mini mealworms (Tenebrio obscurus). When the beetle first hatches from the pupa stage, it will be a creamy white, then brown, and finally black.

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Dicyrtomina saundersi my fave Globular Springtail in my parents back garden today, really pleased to find these again, seems ages since I last found this species. Hopefully these will keep me going through the Winter months :)

This was a very active one and my lens was chasing him all over the patio steps, at about 3mm long and taken at x5 on the MP-E, love those patterns :)

Another Weevil, I love these bright green ones, again lots about at the moment, will get out this weekend and try and find something a bit different I hope :)

This cute little fella was again on a wooden fence, I think it is one of the Brown Lacewings, but I'm struggling to put an ID to this one, so any help appreciated, the antennae seem shorter than many of the illustrations I have seen so far, but it could have lost the ends of the antennae at some stage.

I really love the fine details and hairs on the wings of this individual, so please VIEW LARGE.

Well I always like to think that they think they are excellent at hiding, maybe I should tell them oneday that they will never win any hide and seek competitions :)

I went back to see how the Katiannidae. Genus nov. species nov. colony was doing on Monday, when I first arrived I could not find any on the bench, it was then I found my first Sminthurinus aureus, anyway, whilst photographing this the heavens opened and I had to take refuge in the Rose Greenhouse, after the rain had passed I returned to the bench and there they were, it seems they like the rain, as noted by Tobyjug with his colony down in Surrey.

It also seems that ornamental gardens are a good place to look for interesting Collembola. I think these are really pretty little Springtails, I love the spots and the orange patch on the head, this is a mature female :o)

WARNING ONE OF THE SHOTS IN THE COMMENTS MIGHT SCARE SOME PEOPLE A BIT LOL :o)

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Sorry for another Globular Springtail(Juvenile Dicyrtomina saundersi), slightly obsessed with seeing how small these guys can get. Two of my contacts asked if I have tried my Raynox DCR 250 on the MP-E 65mm, well I have now and it was blummin hard work, the DOF is minute, but then so are these guys, so the Raynox is equivalent to an 8 Diopter, this is equivalent to x2 magnification and then take into consideration x5 of the MP-E, then that makes x10. But this is not the smallest one I've found, see comments :)

If you want to find these in the garden you can either place a plate on the lawn near some other plants and inspect the next day, you are looking for tiny pale orange specks , inspect with a magnifying glass. Another way to find them is to pick up fallen leaves and inspect the leaves, I was finding some leaves with up to eight individuals of varying sizes on them. They like cold, wet conditions, extra info courtesy of zxgirl :)

VIEW LARGE or ORIGINAL if you can, I'm kidding myself when I think I can make out individual plant cells right !!!!! LOL :)

We're pretty much convinced that these little chaps are very early instars of Southern Hawker Dragonflies.These two were once again found by Helen while she was changing the water in our dragonfly tanks with water from our garden pond. The larger of the two is about 3mm from head to tail.

I photographed them in about 3mm of water in a clear perspex dish, sitting on top of a white perspex sheet. I used a Canon MPE-65, with ettl flash set at +2 on the ettl exposure. I have to say that getting to grips with the MPE-65 is one of the hardest skills I've tried to acquire, and I think I would have thrown it through the window if it hadn't been for Eddie the Bugman helping me out with some critical pointers. Thanks Eddie :-)

Sometimes they just climb on board, I was holding the tip of the flower it was on and she decided to climb onto my finger for a closer look, did I ever mention how much I love Damselflies LOL :)

OK last one for a day or so, I will endeavour to find something else tomorrow, it may be a different species or a different insect all together, I think I have enough Damsels stored to last until next year and it's only July LOL :)

Black Primer

Skin:

1. Game Color - Chared Brown & Citadel Steel Legion Drab (Base Coat)

2. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab (Highlight)

3. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab & Zandri Dust (Highlight)

Clothes:

1. Citadel - Screamer Pink

2. Citadel - Screamer Pink & Genestealer Purple

3. Citadel - Screamer Pink & Genestealer Purple & White Scar

Furs:

1. Citadel - Dawnstone

2. Citadel - Nuln Oil & Lamian Medium (Spot Shade)

3. Citadel - Administratum Grey (Drybrush)

4. Citadel - White Scar (Drybrush)

Eyes

1. Citadel - White Scar

2. Citadel - Abaddon Black

Facepaint:

1. Citadel - Screamer Pink & Bugmans Glow

2. Citadel - White Scar (Blended Highlight)

Staff Wood:

1. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab

2. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

3. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab (Dry Brush)

4. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab & Zandri Dust (Dry Brush)

Blue Necklace:

1. Citadel - Caledor Blue

2. Citadel - Caledor Blue & Calgar Blue

3. Citadel - Calgar Blue & White Scar

4. Citadel - Ardcoat (Varnish)

Purple Necklace:

1. Citadel - Naggaroth Night

2. Citadel - Naggaroth Night & Genestealer Purple

3. Citadel - Genestealer Purple & White Scar

4. Citadel - Ardcoat (Varnish)

Gold

1. Citadel - Leadbelcher

2. Citadel - Nuln Oil (Shade)

3. Citadel - Leadbelcher

4. Citadel - Chainmail (Highlights)

Base:

1. Vallejo - Black Primer

2. PVA Glue

3. Army Painter - PVA Glue & Dip Black Battleground - Basing

4. Toad King Castings - Skull & Bones Sheets

5. Army Painter - PVA & Grass Flock

Had a great time in Valkenburg, Netherlands, I found some new Salticidae I have not seen before, I believe it is possibly Heliophanus spp, not 100% sure, but these were very small and very active little Spiders and I was pleased to get this head on shot :)

Brachytron pratense deliberating on her next move, which was pretty much fly off and do something a bit more interesting:)

I also followed suit and went and found a few more interesting subjects, you will have to wait until tomorrow for those :)

Think my flash was running low on power here :(

This was a 2 image stack from the Summer of a Black Vine Weevil, the scourge of many a garden, these are quite large as Weevils go and I can't help liking them as they are quite impressive looking Beetles. In my eyes all Weevils are kind of cool and are always interesting subjects. I found a few of these and they always appear each year on the same section of wall by the canal, no idea why :o)

This is what Wiki says :-

The adult weevil is matte black with fused wing covers, and is unable to fly. It feeds at night on the outer edges of leaves, causing the leaves to have a notched margin. Broadleaved evergreen plants such as Camellia, Rhododendron, Euonymus and Bergenia are particularly prone to damage, although a wide range of different garden plants is susceptible to attack.

Grubs grow up to 1 cm in length, have a slightly curved, legless body, creamy-white in colour, with a tan-brown head. They live below the soil surface, and feed on roots and cambium at the base of the trunk. They cause most damage to herbaceous plants, particularly those growing in containers, where root growth is restricted. Severe infestations can result in complete root destruction and hence plant death.

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The Sloe Bug, this is a slightly different angle on this guy, I remember the first time I put one of these under a macro lens and I could not believe how hairy they are. Found on Blackthorn and many of the Roasaceae, lovely colourful Bugs these dudes :) Look I've not mentioned the weather LOL :)

I also managed an almost head on stack of the Figure of Eighty Moth I found the other day. I liked the angle on this female of the species, reckon they would make great pets if they were the size of a cat :)

Found this little one on my parents garden refuse bin, I know it's a Shield Bug early instar, but not sure which, but I guess it could be a Common Green Shield Bug instar, but it does look very dark, but it does share some characteristics with a 2nd instar of Palomena prasina.

Anyway, this is an 11 image focus stack of this little Bug, using an F/6.3 aperture and a 1/200 shutter speed with a diffused flash. Any help with ID much appreciated.

Hope everyone is having a fine weekend, boy it was hot today :o)

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Well the caution signs have gone up on the gates of Wollaton Park, the rutting season is nearly upon us. It looked like the Stags were starting to separate out again, there was a small group of Red Deer Stags on the grass today. I think they all looked a bit fed up, but I'm putting that down to the dire and miserable weather, but at least it didn't rain till later today, it was just cold, windy and grey instead. I'm hoping to get some good action shots this year, I really enjoyed photographing these guys and their antics last year.

Hoping to get a few of these against Autumn colours, not quite there yet :o)

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Finally managed to get a closeup of a Scorpion Fly, this is a female and it looks like she may be gravid (probably why I could get close enough), these flies feed on dead insects and have been known to steal from Spiders webs, really bizarre looking critters :)

Agapanthia villosoviridescens, Thanks Eddie The Bugman ;^)

Undercoat:

Citadel - Corax White

Face & Skin:

1. Citadel - Bugman's Glow

2. Citadel - Reikland Fleshsade

3. Citadel - 1/2 Bugman's Glow 1/2 Cadian Fleshtone (Highlight)

4. Citadel - Cadian Fleshtone (Highlight)

5. Citadel - 1/2 Cadian Fleshtone 1/2 Kisley Flesh (Highlight)

6. Citadel - Kisley Flesh (Highlight)

Hair:

1. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab

2. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

3. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab (Highlight)

4. Citadel - Steel Legion Drab & Averland Sunset (Highlight)

Clothing:

1. Citadel - Abadonn Black

2. Citadel - Abadonn Black & Dawnstone (Highlight)

3. Citadel - Dawnstone (Highlight)

4. Citadel - Waywatcher Green (Glaze)

5. Citadel - Elysian Green (Highlight)

Light Saber:

1. Citadel - Leadbelcher

2. Citadel - Nuln Oil (Shade)

3. Citadel - Elysian Green (Blade)

4. Citadel - Elysian Green & White Scar (Lightning)

5. Citadel - Waywatcher Green (Glaze)

Boots:

1. Citadel - Abadonn Black

2. Citadel - Abadonn Black & Dawnstone (Highlight)

3. Citadel - Ardcoat (Varnish)

Rocky Base:

1. Citadel - Stirland Mud

2. Army Painter - Battleground Rocks 1-3x (Glued)

3. Citadel - Abadonn Black (Watered Down)

4. Citadel - Mechanicus Standard Grey (Dry Brushed)

5. Citadel - Longbeard Grey (Dry Brushed)

The Fiddler Crab is a supervillain and an enemy of The Tick and Arthur. He first appears in The Big Blue Destiny No. 2 ("Fiddle Me This, Bugman!") and appears in 2 other issues. His real name is Michelle Fromage. He was often mocked and felt bad about himself for having a girl's name. He is nicknamed "Shelly" by The Tick. HIs surname "Fromage" is a pun on Fromage frais is a sweet cheese made from cream and milk that is served as a desert in France.

When Michelle was only five years old, his father was killed in a tragic Moose related accident. He says the details of the accident are "Too Grizzly and embarrassing to recount". His mother was a poor under arm barber who did her best to take care of him and his sibblings with the advent of deodorant spray. When Michelle was a young man he became a street urchin, looking for places to seek refuge in. One day, he came across a bar where "steenky old men" were having an arm wrestling match. He decided to join in an arm wrestling match and despite how scrawny he was at the time, defeated the old man. Michelle became an arm wrestling champion and one day competed in an arm wrestling tournament against The Tick. He lost against The Tick and began to despise him and felt as if he had been humiliated.

Michelle dressed up as as crab and became a supervillain, he then started calling himself "The Fiddler Crab" and vowed to get revenge on the Tick for humiliating him.

Fiddler Crab attacked The Tick while he was in the bathroom but then The Tick tried to reason with Fiddler Crab instead of fighting him. The Fiddler Crab decided to befriend Tick instead and went to a Coin and Stamp Show with Arthur. Fiddler Crab said he was a "Coin Enthusiast".

A most beautiful Bee Orchid, such a pleasure to find the first of the year and in such wonderful condition. I decided focus stacking was in order for these this year, this is a 22 image handheld natural light focus stack, using an F/6.3 aperture, ISO 640 and a 1/400 shutter speed. The beauty of focus stacking means I get full detail whilst retaining a smooth clean bokeh, you just need a calm or sheltered spot with no breezes :0)

It was also nice to photograph these on a relatively calm sunny day, let us hope for many more :o)

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Thought I'd go looking to see if the Sminthurides nr. penicillifer were back and yes they were. This is quite a scarce species and as far as I know only 2 locations are confirmed in the UK, I'm lucky enough to have one of those locations near to my house. If you remember I found these last year.

I had been to see if they were about a few weekends ago, but there were none, but also there was no visible pond weed. When I returned today I noticed an abundance of pond weed and also an abundance of these guys. So I could make a guess that this pond weed is linked to their lifecycle somehow?

No idea what this is... it has legs and eyes...

Update: This is a Ledra aurita instar. Thanks Eddie The Bugman for the ID!!

Here are those images showing Common Blue Damselflies covered in orange gunk, some also displaying discolouration to some degree or another. It easy to make an association with the discolouration and the gunk. also it could look like a fungal infection, but then again it could just be residue from an unknown external source.

I have been in touch with the British Dragonfly Society, a possible answer is iron in the water(Ochre) colouring the mud, if emerging in muddy conditions this could dry onto their faces. They are going to pass the images around to see if anyone can shed further light on the matter :)

It's probably me over reacting at the end of the day LOL

Strange thing is I have photographed many Damsels over the past 2 years and this is the first time I've noticed this. if anyone else notices this discolouration please let me know :)

Skin:

1. Citadel - XV-88 & Steel Legion Drab (Highlight)

Blend With:

2. Citadel - Rhinox Hide & Steel Legion Drab (Shadow)

3. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade & Athonian Camoshade (Shade)

4. Citadel - XV-88 (HL)

5. Citadel - Terminus Stone (HL)

Green Skin Highlights:

1. Citadel - Athonian Camoshade (Shade)

2. Citadel - Castellan Green (Drybrush)

3. Citadel - Straken Green (Drybrush)

4. Citadel - Castellan Green (Light Drybrush)

5. Citadel - Nurgling Green (Very Light Drybrush)

Claws & Teeth:

1. Citadel - Karak Stone

2. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

3. Citadel - Karak Stone (HL)

4. Citadel - Karak Stone & Screaming Skull (HL)

5. Citadel - Karak Stone & Screaming Skull & White Scar (HL)

Mouth & Tongue:

1. Citadel - Bugman's Glow & Screaming Pink

2. Citadel - Bugman's Glow & Screaming Pink & Pink Horror

3. Citadel - Screaming Pink & Pink Horror

4. Citadel - Pink Horror

5. Citadel - Carroburg Crimson (Shade)

6. Citadel - Pink Horror

Eyes:

1. Citadel - Abaddon Black

2. Citadel - Abaddon Black & Dawnstone

3. Citadel - Dawnstone

4. Citadel - Administratum Grey

5. Citadel - CAbaddon Black (Pupil)

6. Citadel - Ardcoat (Gloss)

Snot:

1. Citadel - Elysian Green

2. Citadel - Elysian Green & Nurglin Green (Highlight)

3. Citadel - Athonian Camoshade

4. Citadel - Elysian Green & Nurglin Green (Highlight)

5. Citadel - Ardcoat (Varnish)

Base:

1. Citadel - Stirland Mud

2. Toad Kings Castings - Skull & Bone Pile

3. Citadel - Abadonn Black (Watered Down)

4. Citadel - Mechanicus Standard Grey (Dry Brushed)

5. Citadel - Longbeard Grey (Dry Brushed)

6. Citadel - Zandri Dust

7. Citadel - Screaming Skull (Highlight)

8. Citadel - Screaming Skull & White Scar (Highlight)

9. Citadel - Agrax Earthshade (Shade)

When you are a mere 2.5mm long even the smallest splinters can become obstacles, this Dicyrtoma fusca seemed to struggle on this particular obstacle, I'm going to have to try and film these guys one day soon, reckon that would make interesting video footage.

Currently this species is my fave, I like the colouration on these guys, very striking indeed. No photography today, a bit grey and wet this afternoon, I'm still determined to keep doing macro work this Winter and intend to do at least one day every week.

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I can just imagine using the title as an expression of surprise, these Psyllids have started appearing in force, just curious if anybody knows what the earlier stages of development look like? They have great looking wings on them :)

I found this little fella under a small bit of bark, it stayed completely motionless, so I knew a stacking opportunity was here. I think the ID is correct, but may be proven wrong, this was taken at x7 magnification and was a focus stack of 7 images, some cropping to remove the bad bits left over from the stack, you always get alignment margins that need trimming away.

I have put all my previous MP-E Opiliones stacks in the comments :)

VIEW LARGE ON BLACK nice details here :)

Cue music LOL :)

We roll tonight [We're on tonight]

To the guitar bite

Yeah, yeah, oh

Stand up and be counted

For what you are about to receive

We are the dealers

We'll give you everything you need

Hail hail to the good times

'Cause rock has got the right of way

We ain't no legend, ain't no cause

We're just livin' for today

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

We rock at dawn on the front line

Like a bolt right out of the blue

The sky's alight with the guitar bite

Heads will roll and rock tonight

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

Yes we do

For those about to rock, we salute you

Oooh, we salute!

Oooh, ooooh yeah

We're just a battery for hire with a guitar fire

Ready and aimed at you

Pick up your balls and load up your cannon

For a twenty-one gun salute

For those about to rock - fire

We salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

Those about to rock - fire

We salute you

Fire

We salute you

We salute you

Come on, whooa

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

For those about to rock, we salute you

Shoot, shoot

Shoot, shoot

For those of you, for those who rock

Yeah

(Ain't gonna get tired, won't take a break, we salute you.)

We salute you

We salute you

We salute you

More AC/DC Damselfly mayhem, have a great Bank Holiday everybody :)

It gets so dusty on the side of Wollaton Park Lake and these guys have to have a cleanup every so often :)

This was a large Male Nursery Web Spider found in my parents garden, I really love these spiders and especially love those boxing glove like pedipalps :)

A male Lestes sponsa that has yet to develop its blue pruinescence and blue eyes. This one was having a spot of lunch, can't for the life of me work out what he is eating, but he was distracted enough to let me get close for a shot.

Stalking Damselflies for these shots can be a real pain, I slowly walk up to them and try to lower myself to the right level and gradually inch forward, it is usually at that moment they decide to take off. Quite happy that the numbers of Damselflies is still pretty good, I will have to try again tomorrow, still need a shot of the female.

May try an early rise tomorrow and see what I can find, have noticed quite a few Ruddy Darters about, so may try and find one early morning :o)

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