View allAll Photos Tagged tt685c
© Harshith JV
Common names: Flea beetle
Scientific name: Podontia congregata
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: May 25, 2020
File name: IMG_5462.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Red Cotton Stainter
Scientific name: Dysdercus koenigii
Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Date: March 08, 2020
File name: IMG_4789.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Weevil
Scientific name: Aclees sp.
Place: Vittla, Karnataka, India
Date: October 23, 2020
File name: IMG_9747.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Flower Crab Spider
Scientific name: Thomisus sp.
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: November 10, 2019
File name: IMG_9836.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Read more about this on main post: www.flickr.com/photos/harshithjv/49879361922/
Publication of this observation: www.peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_217.1.pdf
Common names: Brettus Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Brettus cingulatus
Gender: Female
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: August 5, 2018
File name: IMG_3976.enhanced.upload.JPG
Publication of this observation: www.peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_217.1.pdf
© Harshith JV
Common names: Antlion Lacewing
Scientific name: Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae
Place: Vittla, Karnataka, India
Date: October 24, 2020
File name: IMG_0029.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Jayaram's Bush Frog
Scientific name: Raorchestes jayarami
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Date: June 21, 2019
File name: IMG_4465.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Leaf-cutting Bee, Woolly Wall Bee
Scientific family: Megachilidae, Megachile lanata
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: October 02, 2019
File name: IMG_7836.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Rhene Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Rhene sp.
Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Date: October 13, 2019
File name: IMG_8815.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Jayaram's Bush Frog
Scientific name: Raorchestes jayarami
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Date: June 21, 2019
File name: IMG_4481.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
This is a tree crab that lives in tree hollows as seen in the image. Ongoing lockdown reminded me of this image I created at Amboli while herping. Color is eponymous to its name. But difficult to capture with flash light as different colors gets reflected. Therefore changed WB only on the crab close to Tungsten color balance and scene is having different WB.
Common names: Purple Tree Crab
Scientific name: Ghatiana atropurpurea
Place: Amboli, Maharastra
Date: September 15, 2018
File name: IMG_5270.enhanced.smoothNR.upload.JPG
This six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) is one of the many butterflies and moth we came across near the Stora Vika limestone quarry.
This one appears to have barely escaped something, but having damaged a wing severely in thec process. It being almost completely sheared off, this burnet was unable to fly further and facing certain doom.
Regardless of the damage, I must say that this is such a beautiful animal and if you zoom in, you'll see that I was able to catch quite a lot of detail.
© Harshith JV
Common names: Nolid Moth, Tuft Moth (family level names)
Scientific name: Carea cf. angulata
Place: Vittla, Karnataka, India
Date: October 24, 2020
File name: IMG_9860.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Signature Spider
Scientific name: Argiope sp.
Place: J.P.R.F., Bengaluru, Karnataka
Date: March 08, 2020
File name: IMG_4855.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Heavy-bodied Jumper, Semi-coppered Heavy Jumper
Scientific name: Hyllus semicupreus (female)[Prey: Plexippus sp.]
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka
Date: July 19, 2020
File name: IMG_8757.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
This moustached killer is most likely a common awl robberfly (Neoitamus cyanurus) which I found trapped (and tired) inside the greenhouse which allowed me to get *very* close for a few shots before I let it out.
Since I had the MP-E65mm on the camera at the moment, I got as close as 3.7:1.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/48783307943/
Profile shot #1: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50573485096/
Profile shot #2: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50723737223/
My son, Daniel, accompanied me on my first visit to the Mjällådalen nature reserve, not very far from the town of Härnösand.
While the weather was a bit on the cold side and the mosquitoes were abundant, it still turned out to be a great afternoon.
At one point, while we were navingating through the undergrowth from the path and out to the river, we scared up a couple of male blue demoiselles (Calopteryx virgo) and with a little sneaking, I managed this shot with the 100 mm when one of them had landed somewhat nearby.
I showed the processed shot to Daniel (who is fourteen) and his reaction was "Ooooh, vibrant boi!" so that is how I think of it now.
© Harshith JV
Common names: Black Soldier Fly
Scientific name: Hermetia illucens
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: June 25, 2020
File name: IMG_7011.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Renjith spotted with his amazing spotting skills. Probably we're lucky to sight this in Munnar side as not seen regularly there. This is very common in Kodaikanal district, Tamil Nadu and so named after the district.
Monsoon is around the corner. But I will miss out herping for 2 straight years because of pandemic. Right now I can only look back at previous herping adventures in my archive.
The scientific species name is honorary to French professor Alain Dubois, of the Paris Museum of Natural History in France, as an expression of gratitude and appreciation for his contributions to batrachological research and guidance to the species discoverers, S. D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt, in establishing their initial research projects (Biju and Bossuyt 2006). (amphibiaweb.org/species/6730)
I was not aware of the correct pronunciation of the species name until I watched Adam Sandler's recent movie "Hubie Halloween" on Netflix where his titular character name is Hubie Dubois. He is called as 'Doob-Wah' in the movie. Until then, I was pronouncing it as "Doob-Oh-yus."
Common names: Kodaikanal Bush Frog
Scientific name: Raorchestes dubois
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Date: June 22, 2019
File name: IMG_4676.enhanced.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Uthamani's Bush Frog
Scientific name: Raorchestes uthamani
Place: Munnar, Kerala, India
Date: August 24, 2022
File name: IMG_0547.enhanced.upload.JPG
This portrait depicts a juvenile raft spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus), taken at 3.9:1 magnification, eating a wet mosquito which it had just picked up from the water surface of a blue rain water barrel in the garden.
Fortunately for me the mosquito must've been very tasty because it was quite occupied with eating and let me get way closer than I could've hoped.
The raft spider is, along with its cousin, the largest spider in Sweden, but this juvenile was less than 10 mm in body length, despite looking massive here.
A shot of the very same spider, but standing on the rose petals floating on the water surface here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/48506742957/
Dragonflies have these opaque cells (here black) on their wings which work to counter resonance in the wings, thus enabling them to fly faster. Most species have one spot, called a pterostigma, per wing and since they have four wings , they obviously have four pterostigma.
And then there is this guy. Counting the spots, you notice it has two per wing, totalling eight spots, right?
So why on earth did they name this one the fourspotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)? And it's the same in other languages except four Finnish which has a name, "ruskohukankorento", which I think is in reference to the dragonfly's autumnal colours.
The reason, as pointed out by [https://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-mkvip], is that the spots has got nothing to do with the pterostigma - it's actually in reference to the spots at the base of the wings.
This particular specimen was hanging out near the water at lake Långsjön in the Pradiset nature reserve on a visit there on Midsummer's Day.
© Harshith JV
One of the beautiful cicada species found in and around this ever-growing Metropolitan city. Even the genus level identification not yet fully confirmed and looks distinct from other species in Rustia species when I checked. So might be new to science. Hayath has captured this species beautifully last year with multiple angles. Hope it gets researched well and it's kind survives into the future even though the city is getting developed rapidly and destroying it's potential habitat.
Common names: Cicada (no specific name as far as I know)
Scientific name: cf. Rustia sp.
Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Date: June 09, 2019
File name: IMG_3931.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
© Harshith JV
Common names: Mango hopper
Scientific name: Salurnis cf. marginella
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka
Date: January 01, 2022
File name: IMG_3162.enhanced.cropped.upload.JPG
I went to my fav spot in Tyresta National Park a couple of days ago hoping to find some demoiselles, but before I got to those, I spotted this small (4mm / .16") male v-fronted jumper (Aelurillus v-insignitus) and followed him around a bit.
Eventually (after some herding) I was rewarded with a couple of shots from the front showing those big green eyes.
Really pleased with my catch, I proceeded to shoot demoiselles and aven came across some crayfish which was a cool find!
Back home I begin processing my shots and when I came to the jumper, I noticed some sort of weird protrusion from the twig beneath the spider - and then, finally, I realised that Mr. Spider actually had caught a leafhopper and was trying to eat it!
Now, I'm not very versed in leafhoppers, but thanks to the internet, I've learned that this is a species called Arocephalus longiceps - a new species for the province of Sörmland no less.
This small and white moth with rows of black spots is a bird-cherry ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella). It's day active and this onbe has landed on one of the flowers of the great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis).
As the name suggests, the host plant of this one is the bird-cherry (Prunus padus) and the larvae make a collective web which can cover entire trees, which sometimes then are referred to as ghost trees.
Here is a fuzzy little fellow which is an Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola). Since it has emigrated to North America, over there it is known as the European skipper instead.
This particular one was enjoying a bright pink thistlöe at Åva-Stensjödal in the Tyresta National Park to the southeast of Stockholm, Sweden in mid-July.
It's turning out to be a great year for cuckoo wasps for me.
This little one was stuck inside a pane of glass in the green house so I decided to help it out.
But before that I snapped this shot of it on the thin white cloth hanging as curtains when the sunlight gets to intense for the tomatoes.
For lifting it out, I ddn't use any jar or box and just used my hand instead, fully expecting it to fly off as soon as we neared the door.
But to my surprise, the wasp decided that this was an excellent time to clean its antennae and began grooming them there on my finger - allowing me to get a whole bunch of shots of it.
This is a female of one of the species in the Chrysis ignita complex, a group of species which look very similar and not possible to tell apart from my photos. Still a lovely little find, wouldn't you say?
Two of the shots I got of it when on my hand here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52203389717/
A Barynotus obscurus weevil I found in the garden at home shot at 3.3:1 magnification.
Looking at the snout of this one, I can't help thinking it looks quite a lot like a dog.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52362549230/
I process my photos using Adobe Photoshop and then do the final sharpening using Topaz Sharpen AI (www.topazlabs.com/sharpen-ai) which does a significantly better job at bringing out the details than even the more complex combinations of Photoshop's filters and tools.
When using Topaz Sharpen there are a couple of presets and I must say that I definitely prefer the "Stabilize" option over the "Sharpen" and "Focus".
When sharpening bug shots with lots of compound eye detail, like this golden-haired robber fly (Choerades marginata), I have noticed that the "Focus" mode - which typically is too agressive and leaves artifacts here and there - actually does a better job on compound eyes. That's why I on this and similar shots duplicate the layer and sharpen one with "Focus" and one with "Stabilize" and then erase the eye part of the image from the "Stabilize" one so the other one shines through.
Do take the time to zoom in all the way on the eyes - they are absolutely worth it.
Two more shots of this pretty predator here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51385827040/
Here is a common green furrow-bee (Lasioglossum morio) climbing around in a dandelion in the Drevviken nature reserve in Skogås, just south of Stockholm, Sweden.
I'm quite pleased with how the individual grains of pollen show on that shiny thorax of the bee.
The bird-cherry ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella) is a small white moth with rows of black spots along the body - it's rather striking really.
Not many people notice it because of the diminutive size though. But, it is still a very noticeable species - just in a different way.
The caterpillars of this one have figured out that if they hang around together and all of them cover the tree branches where they eat with silk strands, they can create a very difficult obstacle for birds and others who want to eat them.
The result of this is trees often covered in what looks like dense spider web which unsurprisingly isn't the bestthing for the tree - especially in conjunction with the caterpillars devouring all the leaves.
But like I said, the adult moth looks quite pretty...
The first instar of the common yellow swallowtail (Papilio machaon) looks quite different from this in black with a white band/spot, but after moulting, it looks almost, but not quite like this. Have a look here for a freshly moulted one: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53016008553/
This one is the same instar, ie it hasn't moulted - just eaten a lot and then they end up with this wonderful green hue.
Also, how about that black nailpolish?
My son (at the time aged twelve) found this adorable little baby grass snake (Natrix natrix) curled up on the path (where I almost stepped on it) in Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park in Stockholm, Sweden in August of 2021.
The comparatively huge eyes makes the babies super cute in my opinion.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51557298408/
The same snake in my son's hands here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51421845496/in/
On his forearms here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51492498939/
and in a short video clip here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51421098497/
So I was originally scouring the bramble leaves for anything cool on them when I noticed this tiny guy on an aspen shoot which had managed to sneak in and grow among the bramble.
It's an aspen leaf-rolling weevil (Byctiscus populi) and that shimmering copper was very striking - even at this minute scale.
Their faces are quite dark so I struggled a bit with getting enough detail there, but at least some of the shots came out well.
Shooting this turned out to be a difficult job for the diffuser - it's a pretty reflective carapace it got there...
The reason they are called leaf-rolling weevils is that the female actually rolls up leaves (of aspen for this particular species) as little cigar-shaped egg chambers. Looks very cool and I'll make sure to photograph one next season.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52296313181/
Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52343369744/
Part 3 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52581985690/
A while back, I posted a shot of a male v-fronted jumper (Aelurillus v-insignitus) from the Käringboda nature reserve just outside Nynäshamn, Sweden, taken using the macro lens in my new phone (a Poco F3) here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51151288959 and was excited about the quality possible from a phone.
Obviously I didn't just shoot it with a phone camera so then I took a couple of shots using proper gear with the Canon 5Ds and a Canon 100mm macro lens like this one - and one here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51161731576/
Since mister Jumper decided to hang around, I went for a lens swap and fitted the Canon MP-E65mm for the best possible quality. This lens has variable magnification and was set to 3:1 mag when taking this shot: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51519647088/
A. v-insignitus is a pretty small species (the male is between 4 and 5 mm in body length) and has no English common name, but is known as "vinkelhoppspindel" in Sweden, meaning "angle jumping spider" or maybe "chevron jumping spider" because of the light markings on the top of the males head. These guys also have wonderfully green eyes which always look cool.
Here's a bit of a favourite shot of mine. This is a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) at the center of a star-shaped and hairy (we'll get back to the hair later) flower on a houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
The reason there is a "European" in the name is that this old-world species has established itself in both North and Sout America as well.
What is special about this species is the mating system. The females are polyandric, ie they continuously mate with different males throughout their reproductive life, and mating is linked to males upholding a territory of flowers with hairs on them like lambs ears or houseleeks like in this case. Smaller males who can't compete often try and use more sneaky tactics to rush in when the dominant male isn't looking.
Males very aggressively chase others (not just other males but bumblebees and even larger insects) away and when the females come to gather hairs for the nests they mate. This male be is actually larger than the female which is very unusual in bees. Also, males have four short spines on the back of the abdomen which is used as weapons when defending their territory.
I have accumulated quite a few shots of these guys over the years and made an album of them here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/albums/72157667862870066
Another one of the absolutely gorgeous green-socks peacock beetles (Elaphrus riparius) which run around (seriously running around) on the sand banks in the Mjällådalen nature reserve near Härnösand Sweden.
A short clip of the location where I found this one here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/53042074405/
How's that for eye-contact? I cornered this female great green bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) on a leaf and got some cool shots before she doubled back and jumped to a different leaf.
Do zoom in on the eyes for some nice detail not showing in the full shot.
Wouldn't it be really cool to experience the perspective of a small bug? Just imagine climbing around between the petals of a dandelion like this female common geen furrow bee (Lasioglossum morio) - I bet it would look really cool!
The closest thing I can think of would be to get a Laowa 24mm f/14 2x Macro Probe lens and put it on some sort of dolly and then shoot some video through a dandelion while manipulating the flower, but I suspect it would be quite difficult.
This is a more tightly cropped version of this shot which shows the details on the bee better. For the original version which shows more of the dandelion as well, have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52768419935/
Here is a late September find which happen to be the first time I see this species.
This is the pupa of a striped ladybird (Myzia oblongoguttata). When having eaten enough as a larvae, it attaches itself to a suitable substrate and turn into a pupa and after finishing the metamorphosis, the adult will emerge. Depending on species, this can take as little as three days and as long as two weeks. No idea about the exact time for this particular species.
It is a species which is found on pine and this one had attached itself to a white piece of plywood which I had leaned against a pine to serve as backing for a dart board. Hopefully I can manage to fine an adult one next season.
Jumping spiders, like this female Evarcha falcata, always have that wonderful, puzzled look on their faces.
I found this on the roof of the old playhouse in my mother-in-law's garden and managed a couple of shots before she jumped off it and down into the undergrowth.
Notice how she is missing a leg there - though spiders can of course get by just fine with seven legs - and partially regrow them with each moult.
Not entirely sure, but I have seen this species being called the "woodland jumping spider" in English.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52274345556/
Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52573932865/
For a shot of a male with wonderfuly green eyes, have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52207656070/
For a shot of a juvenile specimen, look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52549240959/
Since teaming up with my son to hunt for peacock beetles was such a success when visiting his grandmother earlier this summer, Daniel and I made a trip to Åva-Stensjödal in Tyresta National Park hoping to find one in by the Stensjöbäcken creek.
Well, as you can see, this worked out beautifully and he spotted one of the little gems running and managed to pick it up and put on a flat rock so I could photograph it (this included copious amounts of herding as it wasn't at all interested in staying still)
This particular species is called the copper peacock beetle (Elaphrus cupreus) and this is photgraphed at 3:1 magnification.
My first attempt to do some splash photography.
Getting the background black was the easy part: low ISO, small aperture and fast shutter.
Hard part was the focus and making sure the drop landed on the same spot I focused on. After trying several method I ended up what a Crazy Machines-like contraption made out of a fly swatter, a couple of books and a piece of string 😄
Hardest part however was the timing. As the flash was in HSS, spray and pray wasn't an option as the flash needed to recycle every 1 or 2 photos.
After 500+ photos, I had a couple of photos that stood out.
For being a large redeye (Erythromma najas), this male doesn't really live up to his name, does he?
Nothing's wrong though. It's a teneral specimen, meaning he's fresh out of the larval stage and haven't gotten the time to transform into his full colouration just yet.
In a little while, he will be intensely blue - and with eyes that are even more intensely red. Like on this one: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51284482269/
This small green beauty is one of the cucumber spiders, namely Araniella proxima. There is no English vernacular name, but the Swedish one, "nordlig gurkspindel", means northern cucumber spider which indicates what is different with this one.
It actually has quite a wide distribution and in North America it can be found in Alaska (which actually isn't further north than where this one was found in Sweden).
Either way, this little lady was working on a web in the great masterworts (Astrantia major) which should be excellent hunting grounds with how many bugs they attract.
The minute before I took this shot of an arran brown (Erebia ligea), I spotted another one on a leaf in the Mjällådalen nature reserve. That one immediately took off after I merelt considered getting closer, so when my son pointed this one out, my initial thought was that it wasn't worth the effort - but then I figured I should be grateful that he is enjoying being out like this with me and thanked him for the spot and crept closer.
I took "safety shots" after each short step, but it remained on the leaf until I got so close that it more than filled the frame!
Mental note: you never ever know what animals do so it is always worth a shot.
I managed to get this male beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) to land on my arm and also somehow stay still enough for me to get two shots from the same angle which enabled me to focus stack them and end up with eye, body and wing in focus.
The detail on the compound eye came out absolutely marvellous and I am so happy with one. Zoom in yourself and you'll see why.
I find weevils really interesting as subjects to photograph - but up until finding this one I just couldn't seem to find one of the metallic green species.
They look quite exotic to me and not at all like something you could find up here in grey Sweden.
This apple leaf weevil (Phyllobius maculicornis) was hanging out on a raspberry plant and chill enough to allow me to take several shots of it.
Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51387382867/
Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51614070362/
Part 3 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51939363940/