Well yesterday I got up very early and was out for dawn, it was possibly the most dire early morning session so far. I couldn't find anything, far too windy and my peace and quiet was soon broken by a Triathlon near to where I was that started at 6am.

Anyway, needless to say I resorted to turning over sticks and leaves to see what I could find. Nearly every fallen leaf I turned over had a group of the Deuterosminthurus type Collembola on them, I'm really not sure of exact ID on these, most likely Deuterosminthurus sp, the one in the main image had a two tone effect going on, a dark orange area on it's posterior, I've not seen one like this before. I've included a few other angles and different individuals in the comments, it was kind of nice finding them, I find them quite endearing, especially with their little eyes looking up at you :o)

The size of these varied from 0.8mm to 1mm at a guess, taken at x5 mag and with 68mm of extension tubes.

I kind of liked this tiny little Sminthurinus aureus covered in condensation droplets, this one was about 0.5mm and this is a x7 magnification handheld focus stack of 10 images at F/5.6.

I think to do a good stack of something so small I may have to go down the route of microscope objectives and bellows, but I'm not sure if that would be practical in the field, most stacks using microscope objectives seem to be carried out indoors in studio conditions. So I think I may have a look around and see what is available and what could work, any advice appreciated :o)

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Found myself looking for Collembola again, the wind was too much for any other macro, even when doing these it was a tad annoying.

Anyway, I decided to scrutinise a bed of moss and I found these little pink Globular Springtails, as yet I've not dared to put an ID to them, they were very small and I ended up putting extension tubes on my MP-E, first time I've really played with these, not sure why, really does make finding these guys tricky. I ended up scanning the moss in live view to locate these little guys, they tended to climb to the top of the moss to have a look before they moved on. I reckon these guys were about 0.5mm in size and were away from water. More in comments.

Could they be very juvenile Bourletiella hortensis ?

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Really fed up with the rain now, did try to go out and as soon as I got to my destination it started tipping it down, managed this quick shot of what I think is a juvenile Allacma fusca, I only say this because there were loads of the adults about, will go back on a dry day to try and photograph the adults. This little guy was on a plastic lid, I tapped a small stick on the lid to see what was on it and this was the result, it was placed back after the shot.

I really love the eyes on these, they are so vivid and clear, also you can see the pigmentation starting to show, adults are normally a dark shiny brown colour, but can vary in colour and have fairly long hairs over their bodies.

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Congratulations to Matt on recieving his official badge to work at the VA hospital. Pest control never stops and Matt never stops striving to provide the best service in any setting! #pestcontrol #Charlestonsc #bugman #hospital #hardwork #service #official

For some reason in my neck of the woods these guys are not as common as Dicyrtomina saundersi. I found this one at Wollaton Park a few weeks back and it is the first time I've been able to focus stack this species. This was a 9 image handheld focus stack at x7 magnification using F/5.6. The colours of ornata always seem a touch brighter than saundersi, I have also noticed that the dorsal setae on this individual are quite pronounced when compared to saundersi, but that may be because this one is still quite young(juvenile).

Anyway, the weather here has been rubbish for the past few days and I'm struggling to find anything new to photograph, I think all the Springtails have been washed away LOL :o)

Hope everyone has a great weekend and how about a few days of sunshine, please!!!!! LOL :o)

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I found these under a fallen branch and thought they were one of the most beautiful fungal formations I have ever seen in my life. So I thought I'd share it with you, If you view large you can see water drops on the fruiting bodies.

I have absolutely no idea what these are, I presume they are fungi, do any help with ID would be appreciated :o)

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I think I have found a new one for the list, this tiny little one was hiding in a forest of fungal fruiting bodies on a bit of wood. I did think it was dead at first as it was motionless, so I thought what the hey, let's try a focus stack, so I managed a focus stack of 3 images on this guy that was less than 1mm long. Not long after doing the stack this guy woke up and went for a wander :o)

I'm pretty sure that this is a Hypogastura species, it has visible ocelli and very basic chaetotaxy on the abdominal area, I have included my usual set of extras in comments and hopefully Frans might have an idea of an identity for this pretty little Collembola.

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Well I went out this morning with great expectations of finding macro subjects, but soon realised that the gales were against me, not that it was unpleasant, it was quite nice to feel a warm breeze for a change.

So I thought what could I photograph in such adverse conditions, so off to the brick walls I went, shelter and Salticus scenicus.

Anyway, this is a feeding female Salticus scenicus taken at x4 magnification and is also a 6 image handheld focus stack at F/7.1. Unfortunately its prey, a small Chironomous Midge was being blown about a bit, but the Salty stayed pretty still.

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A very small Xenylla species found on the ice/water of the small ornamental pond at the Nottingham University site. This was a 2 image stack at x7, focusing on this one was really tricky as everytime I tried to photograph it I moved the netting over the pond which caused ripples on the water over the ice which moved this little one.

I'm not sure on species, but the genus is Xenylla due to leather like skin and 5 5 ocelli arrangement.

Having a few Wi-fi connectivity issues lately, so apologies if slow on commenting. Watching a great programme on BBC1 about the micro world, but no Collembola yet LOL :o)

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When I was out and about looking for stuff at Highfields Park I had placed my umbrella on the grass. I suddenly noticed lots of little yellow spots landing on it, so got my magnifying glass out and hey presto! A new Globular Springtail for my list, I'm pretty sure this is Bourletiella arvalis, a very attractive and common yellow member of the Bourletiellidae family. I did try finding these on the grass, but could not find any, I might try placing some cards on the ground next time to get some interesting coloured backgrounds :o)

I thought that it made an interesting image on the black nylon of the umbrella, the yellow contrast stands out so beautifully :o)

Really hope the weather improves soon, got caught in more showers today and it feels so cool out at the moment.

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A rather attractive Deuterosminthurus pallipes, this is another new one for the Collembola list, I found loads of these at the Sensory Garden at Wollaton Hall, they come in two main colour forms and this is the rather attractive purple/red version, the other form is yellow in colour. These guys do a rather cute courtship dance, I still have to witness this, so planning a trip back to Wollaton soon.

You would not believe how fast these guys are, they were running all over the shop and this colour form seemed to be in the majority, so I'm guessing that it must be a female. I like these very much, a most attractive Springtail. I met a very nice couple also doing photography and they were fascinated when I told them about these guys and spent a fair old time talking about my macro.

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Well I've been holding off uploading another Grass Snake shot for a while, this has to be the most exciting find this year so far and was a major tick on the wants list, also the closest I got with my 180mm on 36mm of tubes, you can tell by the DOF here, just got to get an adder and a Smooth Snake shot now (Do you need to be licensed to photograph a Smooth Snake? Not that I will ever find one LOL). Anyway, only got a few more hundred of images of this beauty to upload LOL :o) You can see me clearly in this beauties eye :o)

I'm really hoping for some good weather this weekend as I am off in search of Hairy Dragonflies, Four Spotted Chasers, Azure Damselflies and Variable Damselflies, so what are the odds of finding any of these, well knowing my luck LOL :o)

My first Sitticus pubescens of 2013, these are a curious species and are a personal favourite of mine. I find these darker species on an almost black coloured stone wall. I think they have almost become a melanistic form and they really are tricky to spot when you first look at the wall, but once you are tuned into what to look for, then you start finding them. They don't tend to move much and often just sit there waiting.

Anyway, I chose this sigle frame shot as I loved the eyes, I was using an F/8 aperture and was going for a stack. This small male, however, was more interested in the large diffuser looming overhead and raised his beautiful eyes up to have a momentary look. I'm also chuffed with the diffusion here, I used a large Lumiquest diffuser and also a sheet of tracing paper inside the diffuser. I think in this case, it is all in the eyes, lovely oOOo

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A focus stack of an Orchesella villosa, this was a different individual from a week or so ago. This is a x5 magnification stack made up of 6 images, it would have been more, but the antennae closest to the lens had other ideas, however, the details on the furthest antennae are particularly good, there are some nice details in general here.

Again another weekend of no photography, that's 3 in a row now, Winter is holding on with a definite icy grip. This time last year I was photographing Weevils, Butterflies and Bee Flies, so far this year I have seen a couple of really tiny Weevils and that is about it. Then again I can always find more Collembola, they seem to be about no matter what :o)

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Another stack from the weekend, this is an Orchesella villosa, they are fairly large as Collembola go and this one was about 5mm in length, they can be quite variable in colour, but generally tend to be a tan brown with dark stripes. These guys can often be found under fallen branches and bark. They do make quite easy subjects for stacking as they tend to stay still when found, I managed about 6 stacks of this one before it got fed up with me.

This is another handheld focus stack of 17 images, I used my MP-E at x4 magnification and an F/5.6 aperture. This is the first time I've actually seen the collophore and furca of one of these guys.

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A few weeks back I found this little male Dicyrtomina saundersi in a small pool in a hollow of a felled tree. I think it had accidentally jumped in, apparently although these guys look quite happy spinning about on the water surface, they are far from happy and if they can't escape then that could be disastrous.

Anyway, as this one was sheltered from any breezes I managed to do an 11 image handheld focus stack at about x4 magnification, this was just one of a series of stacks of this little one, in some it moved its antennae, but on the whole he stayed completely still :o)

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I was at my new location which is proving to be quite a fruitful area. There are lots of wooden fences at this site and one thing I know, Springtails love to graze on fences.

Anyway, walking along the path in Harrison's Plantation I noticed a darkish spec moving about, I got my magnifying glass out (Never leave home without this x30 loupe) and to my surprise it was a male of the Katiannidae. Genus nov. species nov. it looks to be a mature male and it was the only one about.

Taken at x5 mag, cropped and the subject was moving :o)

It made a nice change to photograph these on a background that was not gloss white, the other colony likes to graze on a white bench at Wollaton Park. This site is about a mile away from the site I originally found these at.

I have a feeling that these guys are doing rather well in the UK, I'm surprised none have been found on mainland Europe yet, I'm sure they are out there :o)

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1st of April and no joke I still have not seen a decent sized insect, after 2 long walks this Easter the biggest thing I saw was a small fly, so next best thing and only thing I knew I could find were Collembola(Which are no longer classed as insects, they used to be but now they are in their own class Collembola within the Superclass Hexapoda, the Superclass containing the following classes Collembola, Protura, Diplura, Insecta).

Anyway, this I think is a Stenacidia violacea female, she did not appear to have any subdivisions of her 4th antennal segment. There is an area of stony ground covered in moss on one of my Melton walks and there is always a good population of these there. It was another cold start today and when photographing these I had to put my gloves on to keep my hands from freezing LOL, don't think the temperature got up higher than 4C today although the sun did make a late appearance. Sorry for my absence, just not been taking any photo's lately.

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The one thing I'm actually looking forward to now are the Autumnal colours, being a wet Summer, I predict some very rich Autumn colours this year.

This also means wonderful colours for Collembola photography, green is nice, but reds, oranges, yellows and browns are better. Here we have a Sminthurinus species on the underside of a fallen leaf, I just loved the beautiful colours here. It is also standing next to a water drop on the back of the leaf.

This was taken with my MP-E at x5 on 72mm of extension tubes. I'm not 100% on ID, but possibly a Sminthurinus aureus, I'm sure Frans will be able to help confirm ID. This one was about 0.5mm in size :o)

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Another new Collembola for the list, I was really pleased when I was panning my lens over a patch of ground and I found this cool customer. This I think this is Sminthurinus elegans, it has the dark dorsal stripe, this one was about an 0.8-1mm in size affair, I really love the colouration on this one, very cool indeed.

This is another one from my little area of ground I explore at Wilford Claypit, it seems to turn up interesting finds every so often, I think after the recent rain these guys have started reappearing, I was here when it was hot and couldn't find a sausage LOL :o)

Taken with the MP-E at x5 mag on 68mm of extension tubes :o)

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I do get so engrossed when I take my camera into this macro world. The other day I spied this little one and followed it with my camera for a while.

I'm not sure what species this is, it has some interesting features including an interesting white dorsal stripe, the chaetotaxy of the abdomen also looked quite distinctive and there are other markings on the abdomen, I thought it had a touch of the Sminthurididae about it, but then I'm probably completely wrong LOL :o) Then again could be another juvenile Bourletiella hortensis, problem is not many photographs of the juveniles out there :o)

This was about 0.6-0.8mm long and was taken with the MP-E at x5 mag on 68mm of extension tubes :o)

I have included a selection of images in the comments showing this one in various poses :o)

ID juvenile female Stenacidia violacea, thanks to andybadger :o)

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Well another day and another Springtail photo session. Today I was messing about with backgrounds, I purchased a sheet of coloured foam which had loads of different colours, kind of like when you mixed all the coloured plasticine together as a kid.

Needless to say I found a few Dicyrtomina saundersi on my walk, so I set about a focus stack or two. This one was a 24 image handheld focus stack at x7 mag using an aperture of F/5, ISO 320 and a 1/125 shutter speed. I thought the colours were rather groovy here, also loved the symmetrical feel of the subject :o)

Was a really nice day out, a bit cold and amazed how quickly the light went, will have to get up earlier tomorrow :o)

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A young female Dicyrtomina saundersi on a frosty leaf. It's been quite a bit milder recently and I look forward to another frosty spell so I can work on these sorts of shots. This one was a juvenile and was about 1.5mm in length at a guess :O)

This little one was on the underside of a frosty leaf and I managed to get a 14 image handheld focus stack with my MP-E at x7 magnification using an F/5.6 aperture. As well as ice crystals and frosty bokeh this one also has a few droplets on it.

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I found this guy under a bit of wood today, completely motionless and not doing a lot at all. So following the old adage "If it don't move, stack it", I decided to try a focus stack, this is a 13 image handheld focus stack using an F/6.3 aperture.

I've no idea what species of Weevil this one is, if anyone recognises it please let me know :o) It eventually did wake up a bit and started moving its legs and antennae, at that point I decided to turn the wood back over and let it get back to sleep :o)

Been trying to do stuff on Flickr all evening, it is being really slow and unresponsive with hiccups all over the shop, really annoying :o(

Hope everyone has a great weekend :o)

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I'm pretty sure that this is a juvenile Dicyrtoma fusca, I've not seen one of these for months, I think they prefer cooler weather and are starting to appear now it's starting to get cooler outside. It seems that as the seasons change, so do the Collembola, of course there are some species that can be found all year round, but there are other species that are seasonal. I expect to start to see more Dicyrtominae when the leaves really do start falling and we start getting colder temperatures.

Taken with the MP-E at x5 on 72mm of extension tubes.

I hope everyone has a great week :o)

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Really pleased to find this new one, I've only ever found one species before, so to find this almost golden beauty was a real bonus. Cassida flaveola or the Pale Tortoise Beetle is associated with host plants from the Caryophyllaceae family, but this one was found on the wire mesh that holds the rocks in place around part of the lake at Wollaton Park, thought it made an interesting setting. This is a 9 image focus stack at F/8. I was actually looking for signs of Damselfly emergence, but not a thing to be found, I really hope I don't have to wait until the middle of May like last year.

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I took a trip to Sheffield in search of rare and exotic Collembola and I was not disappointed. I had been reading an article about exotic introduced species of Collembola, see here pages 10-23 :-

www.ukeconet.co.uk/images/stories/aliens_proceedings.pdf

Anyway, I found quite a few different looking and very colourful Collembola, here is a first example. The above image is a focus stack of 4 images. I'm not sure if this is Katianna sp2 or something else, there seemed to be quite a bit of variety in colour with these guys.These were associated with Erica (Heath or Heather), basically I was finding them on fallen decaying leaves lodged in the Heather.

I will do another post of these in a while, but I'm so tired tonight, I will leave you with this appetiser :o)

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Lots of these hopping about, never thought I'd ever get one to stay put, but this individual was feeding, I have included a side on shot in the comments, pretty little Leafhoppers these :)

A female Dicyrtomina saundersi from today, this is a 9 image handheld focus stack at x7 magnification. It was quite a pleasant day today and got off to a brilliant start, I got up at 8am, opened the curtains to see a load of Waxwings on a neighbours aerial, then got so excited that I fluffed the shots, but at least I can finally say that I've seen Waxwings, I spent the rest of the day looking for some and I must have wandered around most of Melton Mowbray.

I eventually settled for another Collembola hunt, I could not find much else, but I'm still happy :o)

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A female Dicyrtomina saundersi from today, this is a 9 image handheld focus stack at x7 magnification. It was quite a pleasant day today and got off to a brilliant start, I got up at 8am, opened the curtains to see a load of Waxwings on a neighbours aerial, then got so excited that I fluffed the shots, but at least I can finally say that I've seen Waxwings, I spent the rest of the day looking for some and I must have wandered around most of Melton Mowbray.

I eventually settled for another Collembola hunt, I could not find much else, but I'm still happy :o)

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Spent a while trying to photograph these Rhododendron Leafhoppers the other day, they are really frustrating to try and photograph, they firstly like to hide on the underside of a leaf when you get near, they also do a strange swaying movement if you happen to get too close (Seemed almost deliberately swaying to avoid being focused on) and failing that they just jump away. So after many attempts I got a few keepers, in this shot the Leafhopper was getting ready to jump. Still was great fun and easily passed 45 minutes by quickly :0)

I would have liked to avoid flash fall off here, but there was no way of shooting these and holding something behind the leaf, these were also shot at shoulder height.

These guys were introduced to the UK in the 1930's, it is originally a US species, where it is known as the Scarlet and Green Leafhopper, it is one of the few insects that actually feeds on Rhododendron Bushes.

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Spent a while trying to photograph these Rhododendron Leafhoppers the other day, they are really frustrating to try and photograph, they firstly like to hide on the underside of a leaf when you get near, they also do a strange swaying movement if you happen to get too close and failing that they just jump away. So after many attempts I got a few keepers, in this shot the Leafhopper was getting ready to jump.

I would have liked to avoid flash fall off here, but there was no way of shooting these and holding something behind the leaf, these were also shot at shoulder height.

These guys were introduced to the UK in the 1930's, it is originally a US species, where it is known as the Scarlet and Green Leafhopper, it is one of the few insects that actually feeds on Rhododendron Bushes.

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I think I'm going to enjoy Autumn, the colour possibilities are virtually unlimited and with macro subjects wandering these magical environments, so much fun to be had :o)

A juvenile Sminthurinus species (Could be S.reticulatus) on a colourful fallen leaf, there are lots of these starting to appear now. I found these in my favourite spot at Wollaton Park, the sensory garden behind the hall has lots of colourful plants, shrubs and trees, some of the leaves are so colourful.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, Saturdays weather is looking better in the UK :o)

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This to my delight was my other exotic new find from Sheffield Botanical Gardens, I found these guys in exactly the same place as I found the Genus nov.2 sp. nov, initially I was unsure of the differences, I believe the abdominal setae are different, also these have an orange vertical marking between the ocelli patches. This one was on a leaf. you can see the middle rib/vein of the leaf behind this little one :o)

So as with the others, this species seems to like the beds of Ericas and were found on fallen leaves in and around the Ericas. It could be that when the Botanical Gardens were set up that these guys were introduced on certain imported indoor plants and over the years they have migrated outdoors and adapted to live on and around other plants or they were introduced on outdoor plants, it is thought this species is another foreign import :o)

I have to say that this is one of the prettiest Collembola I have found to date. There is another species called Katianna nr. australis which is unique to the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, I will have to try and find this species next time I visit :o)

Hope you all have a great weekend and stay warm, looks like another cold one :o(

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A Dicyrtoma fusca chowing down on something, not exactly sure what, certainly not a full Turkey dinner LOL. This is the colour variant with distinct middorsal dark line, and yellowish lateral pigmentation or to those in the know Var.1. This was a 7 image focus stack at x7 magnification and shows the abdominal patterning quite nicely, see comments.

Anyway, hope you are all having a cracking Christmas, I did manage to get out today, but everywhere is waterlogged, the local park has a pond which had well and truly burst its banks :o)

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A Dicyrtoma fusca chowing down on something, not exactly sure what, certainly not a full Turkey dinner LOL. This is the colour variant with distinct middorsal dark line, and yellowish lateral pigmentation or to those in the know Var.1. This was a 7 image focus stack at x7 magnification and shows the abdominal patterning quite nicely, see comments.

Anyway, hope you are all having a cracking Christmas, I did manage to get out today, but everywhere is waterlogged, the local park has a pond which had well and truly burst its banks :o)

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The Common Yellow Dung Fly can be found pretty much everywhere, it gets its name as it does tend to gather in large numbers on animal dung, but it is also a common sight on virtually any flowering plant, find some Umbellifers and these guys will not be too far away, they do feed on pollen, but they mainly have a taste for other flies and insects. Here's an interesting snippit from Wiki :-

The adults are mostly predators on smaller insects — mostly other Diptera, they will also feed on pollen, but most specimens seen on flowers will be hunting prey there. Both males and females are found on dung, the males only feeding on other insects that visit dung, such as blow-flies. Females will be there both to feed and oviposit on the dung surface,

Females prefer to lay their eggs on the small hills of the dung surface and avoid depressions and pointed parts of the dung. This ensures survival, as emergence is better by avoiding the drying on small points in the dung. Also by avoiding possible drowning by rain by not laying eggs in depressions of the dung surface. The female yellow dung-fly places her eggs where they will have the greatest chance of survival. The eggs hatch into predatory larvae and feed on insect larvae within the dung. After 21 days or more of feeding, dependent on conditions, the larvae burrow into the soil around and beneath the dung and then develop into pupae, before developing into adult flies.

Scathophaga stercoraria can produce four or five generations per season. The adults are active throughout much of the year in most moderate climates. In most cases both males and females will mate multiple times, as is very common in insects. Much has been studied about the competition between genders and what factors determine mating success, and what part that in turn may play on the competitive nature on the larvae.

I was quite happy with this one, there are some nice textural details on this beauty, always amazed at how furry these guys can be :o)

Funnily enough if you were to go down to the stem then you would be seeing my last upload, yep same potted plant :o)

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They're back, one of my favourite Collembola species, a species that still doesn't seem to have a proper name. I had forgotten how pretty these little guys are, they are about 1-1.5mm long, the females as seen in the main are a spotty affair with lovely orange highlights on the head, the males are more orange in coloration with dark sides, the ones shown in the comments are juveniles. These are believed to be an introduced species and are associated with evergreen shrubs like Skimmia and related plants, these guys were found on the underside of the leaves, I understand that they feed on algae/fungi and I have seen them eating from pools of residue near the veins of the leaves. If you want to find these look in gardens, parks or indeed garden centres, if you have a Skimmia bush, then chances are you could have these :o)

Sorry, I've not been on Flickr much this week, my mojo has been missing LOL :o)

I wish everyone a happy weekend, remember to wrap up warm :o)

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A male Stenacidia violacea on the look out for a mate in the moss jungle. I liked the bright colours of this Collembola against the greens of the moss. This was found on the same patch of land at Wilford Claypit, I shall call it the "Springtail Arena", I'm seeing numerous species going about their business in a small area of about 30cm by 20cm, the area is exposed ground surrounded by grass and moss.

All I do is have my camera on live view and scan the area, it doesn't take long to locate a subject and supporting my heavy camera setup is pretty comfortable being so close to the ground. I'm finding the fauna is changing with the seasons and am looking forward to seeing what crops up over the coming months :o)

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Went back in my archives to some unused material and managed a bit of a stack, some nice details here, also messed about in picnik as I was a bit bored, results below LOL :)

Went back in my archives to some unused material and managed a bit of a stack, some nice details here, also messed about in picnik as I was a bit bored, results below LOL :)

A Sminthurinus aureus playing hide and seek amongst the condensation droplets on the underside of a leaf, just imagine what it must be like to make your way through a labyrinth of water droplets that are bigger than you. I'm really pleased with how this turned out, one day iI would like to try and get a photo of one looking through a water droplet, now that would be very cool.

Taken at x5 on my MP-E on 112mm of extension tubes, I had the leaf on the arm of a wooden bench, it made it possible to get on the right level :o)

I went out today, but everywhere was waterlogged and more rain forecast for tomorrow morning.

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I went back to see if I could find more Katiannidae. Genus nov. species nov. at the new second location today. I searched the wooden fence I found the male on last week and guess what? I found another solitary male, no sign of any others, no females, nothing, just this lone male.

Anyway, I kind of liked this one against a flash fall off background, really brings out the warm colours of this little beauty :o)

Taken at x5mag with the MP-E, about 1mm long :o)

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I spent the afternoon in woodland seeing what I could find, as well as many Collembola I found a few of these sleeping Weevils, these were quite small and were about 3-4mm at a guess, thought it was rather cute in a hairy way LOL :o) If anyone has any idea of an ID for this then I shall be most grateful :o)

Anyway, a 19 image handheld focus stack using an f/6.3 aperture, ISO320, and a 1/160 shutter speed, I had upped the ISO a bit to enable a faster refresh rate with the flash. The MP-E was used at x5 magnification. I really must kick myself out of bed tomorrow for some Damsel portraits.

A bit annoyed with the weather, especially after watching the morning news and being promised glorious sunshine, oh well wasn't too bad I guess :o)

Thanks to joe with a camera, ID is Barypeithes pellucidus, a Hairy Spider Weevil :o)

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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 Green Shield Bug instar, but it does look very dark.

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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I'm really hoping to get some Damselflies this weekend, but for now this was my first focus stack of a Large Red Damselfly taken at x5 magnification with the MP-E. There were 18 images taken handheld in this stack at F/6.3, ISO 250 and a 1/160 shutter speed, diffused flash was used. Now I have to say I would have preferred to have used more shots in this stack and using a macro rail of some sort would have been easier, the reason is that hand stacking at this magnification means that any shakes of the hand can mean a significant change of position of the subject in the viewfinder, for this stack I was lying on the ground for maximum stability :o) A slight crop in height, the width has not been cropped :o)

This is the same individual that had recently had Moths on the menu, I actually prefer the lighting in this one :o)

Hope everyone has a great weekend :o)

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A rather far out looking Large Red Damselfly, I think I managed to get my camera at a lower angle. I also managed to turn this into a 3 image focus stack taken at f/8. It shows some nice details of lower head structure of a Damselfly.

Another lovely day today and I got loads of Large Red Damselfly shots, but they were all full body shots, again these were far too active for portrait work, I will post a full body shot in the next day or two. It did start getting too windy today and I gave up in the mid afternoon, still had a good old walk and topped the tan up :o)

Also got an image on the BBC Nature website :o)

www.bbc.co.uk/nature/22115362

Not photographed these guys in ages, well over a year I think, these are Sminthurinus elegans and they have to be my favourite Sminthurinus species, I have included more in the first of comments.

I often find these grazing in the Springtail arena (A small patch of ground at Wilford Claypit), they seem to spend a lot of time grazing on algae that grows on the ground there. These are also the closest shots I have managed to date, I used my MP-E at x5 mounted on 72mm of extension tubes and my Canon 1.4x teleconverter, I used an f/5 aperture for these, it seems if I use any higher aperture than f/5 then diffraction becomes very apparent. These guys are around 0.8mm long, I can't see these with my eyes, I have to use a magnifying glass :o)

Sorry I've not been on Flickr much, the change in weather has really put a stop to photography. I must try harder LOL :o)

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Thought I'd upload this find from yesterday, it's only a partial stack of 13 images, I just wanted to get the head area done. This is a Harvestman with an Erythraeidae Mite attached. I've seen Harvestmen with these attached before, but this one had latched onto the Harvestman right between the eyes, OUCHHHH !!!!!!

I'm just glad that when we get external parasites they are relatively small. I guess this would be like having a tick the size of a rat attached to you.

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