Another Lazy Girl - _TNY_3285
The orange-belted leafwalker (Xylota segnis) is not one of the species which lives on the wing, but rather prefer to rest on a leaf in the sun (can't say I disagree).
The scientific name picks up on that as "segnis" actually translates into lazy or docile. "Xylota" is a Latinized version of the Byzantine-Greek "ξυλωτή" meaning "wooden".
Xylota hoverflies sometimes eat/drink honeydew from aphids and have also been observed sucking pollen off the face of other hoverflies. How's that for an interesting diet?
I found this one in my mother-in-law's kitchen and carried it outside and placed it on the railing outside, expecting it to fly off immediately. Since it decided to stay there I swiftly went for the camera and managed this portrait at 3.9:1 magnification, meaning there are tons of detail on those compound eyes from the 50 megapixel sensor if you zoom in.
When processing this shot I discovered that I could get an improved result by blending different sharpening modes in Topaz AI Sharpen. Most of the shot is done using the "Stabilize" mode, but I did another with the "Focus" mode and kept the compound eyes from that one together with the rest from the Stabilize version.
For two similar shots of a female of the same species taken about a month earlier, check out this: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51240403531/ and this: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51636404310/in/ shot.
Another Lazy Girl - _TNY_3285
The orange-belted leafwalker (Xylota segnis) is not one of the species which lives on the wing, but rather prefer to rest on a leaf in the sun (can't say I disagree).
The scientific name picks up on that as "segnis" actually translates into lazy or docile. "Xylota" is a Latinized version of the Byzantine-Greek "ξυλωτή" meaning "wooden".
Xylota hoverflies sometimes eat/drink honeydew from aphids and have also been observed sucking pollen off the face of other hoverflies. How's that for an interesting diet?
I found this one in my mother-in-law's kitchen and carried it outside and placed it on the railing outside, expecting it to fly off immediately. Since it decided to stay there I swiftly went for the camera and managed this portrait at 3.9:1 magnification, meaning there are tons of detail on those compound eyes from the 50 megapixel sensor if you zoom in.
When processing this shot I discovered that I could get an improved result by blending different sharpening modes in Topaz AI Sharpen. Most of the shot is done using the "Stabilize" mode, but I did another with the "Focus" mode and kept the compound eyes from that one together with the rest from the Stabilize version.
For two similar shots of a female of the same species taken about a month earlier, check out this: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51240403531/ and this: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/51636404310/in/ shot.