bugman photos on Flickr

~A Hibernating Weevil~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~The Return Of Dicyrtoma fusca~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Cassida flaveola~ by Eddie The Bugman

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.

VIEW ON BLACK

~What A Katianna Day~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Clcadella viridis~ by Eddie The Bugman

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 :)

~The Big Dicyrtomina~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~The Big Dicyrtomina~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~The Big Dicyrtomina~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Graphocephala fennahi~ by Eddie The Bugman

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.

VIEW ON BLACK

~Graphocephala fennahi~ by Eddie The Bugman

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.

VIEW ON BLACK

~Autumnal Fire~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Katianna nr schotti~ by Eddie The Bugman

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(

VIEW ON BLACK

~Dicyrtoma Chow Down~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Dicyrtoma Chow Down~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Scathophaga stercoraria~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Scathophaga stercoraria~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Katiannidae Genus nov.1 sp. nov. The Return~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Welcome To The Jungle~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~The Green Goddess~ by Eddie The Bugman

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 :)

~The Green Goddess~ by Eddie The Bugman

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 :)

~Hide And Seek~ by Eddie The Bugman

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.

VIEW ON BLACK

~Empididae Predator Extreme~ by Eddie The Bugman

An Empididae or Dagger Fly or Balloon Fly found today predating on a Dilophus febrilis (I think). Well this was the only thing of interest I found before the rain set in and yes still no Damselflies, I really am looking hard. It was more like an Autumn day today and hoping some good weather comes our way soon :o) I think the Empididae could be Rhamphomyia sulcata, if anyone knows for sure I would be grateful for confirmation :o)

Anyhow, I was just on my way home when I noticed these on a fence at head height, I think the Empididae was so busy that it was not too bothered by my presence and I managed a 15 image handheld focus stack at F/7.1 at about x2 magnification. There was some movement of legs and abdomen, mainly due to the annoying windy conditions, this was the best stack of the bunch I managed and I still had to do quite a bit of editing. Always nice to get a predation stack, I would like to find a Dilophus febrilis on its own, they have the coolest two layered compound eyes :o)

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great weekend :o)

VIEW ON BLACK WORTH VIEWING LARGE OR ORIGINAL SIZE

~Calvatomina On Ice~ by Eddie The Bugman

A juvemile Calvatomina nr superba on a frozen leaf, I had almost given up on getting a stack of one of these, but I was photographing this one as it was ambling around and then it stopped still and I managed a 3 image handheld focus stack at F/7.1 before it started moving again, I didn't dare widen the aperture and go for a deeper stack as it was a one off chance I did not want to miss. These guys seem to be constantly active even in such cold conditions. I really liked the sparkly bokeh here as well :o)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Male Katiannidae. Genus nov. species nov.~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW ON BLACK

~Hairy Spider Weevil~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW LARGE

~Bug On A Bin~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW LARGE

~LRD The x5 Magnification Version~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW LARGE THIS IS AS BIG AS IT GETS LOL

~Solitary~ by Eddie The Bugman

Thought I'd upload this as it is the first Butterfly egg I've ever photographed.

This is the egg of a Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus, how do I know this? Easy I saw her lay the egg. So it seems that Holly Blue's lay solitary eggs, whereas other Butterflies will lay a clutch of eggs, I guess there are advantages with this tactic, the caterpillar will not have to compete with siblings for food.

Anyway, they are such amazing and intricate structures, this was a focus stack of 6 images at x4.5 mag and very tricky as it was at head height and I was holding the plant in one hand and camera in the other, at the same time being careful not to disturb the egg. I think I will try a higher magnification stack next time as I'd love to see more, but you still get an idea of the delicate complexities of these structures, I have included a crop in the comments.

VIEW LARGE

~You Lookin' At Me~ by Eddie The Bugman

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

~Sminthurinus elegans 2013~ by Eddie The Bugman

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)

VIEW LARGE

~That's Got To Hurt~ by Eddie The Bugman

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.

VIEW LARGE

~A New Day~ by Eddie The Bugman

I found this guy yesterday still holding on to its exuviae, so I managed an opportunistic focus stack of 7 images. I really love the eye details on these newly emerged Common Darters, you really need to view this full size if you can. I wish I could of managed a better angle, but this guy was just above the water surface on the side of fountain wall. I had to use my small diffuser, next time I will use the bigger diffuser to get better diffusion. I was also surprised at how small the Common Darters exuviae were.

Anyway, looks like the good weather is over again, raining here already. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend :o)

I have included a crop in the comments :o)

VIEW LARGE

~Get Off My Land~ by Eddie The Bugman

I think this was a very territorial male Large Red Damselfly, there is a bit of decking on the River Eye at Melton Mowbray, this was about 2 weeks ago on that really sunny Sunday, anyway this chap kept landing next to me and looked very angry indeed, I also saw him chase off numerous other Damselflies. The only problem was when I tried a stack he either took off or kept moving about, this was the only moderately successful stack of this guy, it was a stack of 4 images at f/10, but I loved the result and the gorgeous colours. Still hoping to get a closer stack of a mature Large Red Damselfly.

Also a good show of mature Large Red Damselfly colours and my first Melton Mowbray LRD :o)

VIEW LARGE

~Calvatomina rufescens in pre-moult state~ by Eddie The Bugman

A Calvatomina rufescens from today, this was an interesting specimen as it was in a pre-moult state. You can see the results of the cuticle detaching from around the feet, this results in the white feet. Also the mottling effect on the main body is also where the old cuticle is detaching from the new underneath. This might also explain why this one hardly moved and allowed a 7 image stack at x7 magnification.

Had a good long 10 mile walk today and my reward was getting caught in a storm on my way home, absolutely drenched by the time I got home LOL ;O)

My last upload was a video:-

www.flickr.com/photos/odonataman/10318427505/in/photostream/

VIEW LARGE

~Allacma fusca var. pustulata~ by Eddie The Bugman

I was overjoyed to find these at a new location at Colwick Woods, I found a few, but this one was the only one that stayed put, even though she wasn't in the best position, I did my best. This is the spotty version of Allacma fusca, they are the same species, this is just the rarer pustulata variation. It was also interesting to note that it did seem to change colour in a few frames of the stack, but that might have been the gut moving food about just below the surface of the back.

This was a 14 image focus stack at F/5.6 with the MP-E at x5 on a 1.4x teleconverter, giving a magnification of x7, this one was about 2mm long. It really was a wicked day, photographed Dragonflies in the morning and found loads of Springtails and Pseudoscorpions in the afternoon at Colwick Woods, this guy was the real highlight though :o)

VIEW LARGE

~Sminthurus viridis~ by Eddie The Bugman

A first attempt at stacking this species and possibly a last attempt, mainly because they have to be the most fidgety species. There was some movement in every frame of the stack, fortunately with editing I was able to rectify most of the problems, the antennae moved on every frame, so had to settle for OOF. These also seem to be variable in colour, I see these dull variants a lot at Wilford Claypit, but at other locations I see very green individuals, I think it may be down to diet.

Anyway, this is an 8 image handheld focus stack using an F/5 aperture at about x5 magnification. I have also managed some nice textures on the skin of this female. If you scaled these guys up to say the size of a dog they would have a rather amazing textural quality to their skin, I guess the closest comparison would be a bit like a hexagonal chainmail, it's difficult to describe, so here's a link to some SEM's :-

www.deviantart.com/art/Springtail-Study-VIII-86478211

I hope everyone has a great weekend :o)

VIEW LARGE

Ocupação UFBA _ por Isabela Bugmann by Fervu Profanu