A Beyond Rare Visitor, Pt. 3 - _TNY_8324S2
This is the rarest bug I've ever photographed - and most likely ever will.
The whole thing started when I was hurrying out the house to get some things done before the rain made everything wet.
As I got out of the house, the first rain drops were already starting to fall - and then I saw a small (5 mm / .2") cuckoo wasp on the window stool.
Cuckoo wasps take precedence over other stuff so I dropped what I were holding and ran in for the camera.
As I came out again, the wasp was still there, busy drinking from a raindrop!
I managed to get several shots while the little guy (or girl) moved between water drops before it eventually flew away.
I had never seen one with these colours, but it turned out, so had very few others as well. I asked around a bit for help with an ID and Alexander Berg, who I dare say is the most knowledgable person in the country on cuckoo wasps instantly identified it as a Philoctetes truncatus! This is special as it is just the second time in over a hundred years that this species has been sighted in Sweden! - And all sightings but mine have been in the south of Sweden while mine was in Stockholm.
Part 1 is straight from the side here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52177535080/
Part 2 is very similar to this shot - but here I managed to focus stack two exposures, resulting in both the head and the thorax being in focus. The single exposure Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52331765835/
Here's a BTS shot showing it next to my fingertip for scale: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52177759619/
A Beyond Rare Visitor, Pt. 3 - _TNY_8324S2
This is the rarest bug I've ever photographed - and most likely ever will.
The whole thing started when I was hurrying out the house to get some things done before the rain made everything wet.
As I got out of the house, the first rain drops were already starting to fall - and then I saw a small (5 mm / .2") cuckoo wasp on the window stool.
Cuckoo wasps take precedence over other stuff so I dropped what I were holding and ran in for the camera.
As I came out again, the wasp was still there, busy drinking from a raindrop!
I managed to get several shots while the little guy (or girl) moved between water drops before it eventually flew away.
I had never seen one with these colours, but it turned out, so had very few others as well. I asked around a bit for help with an ID and Alexander Berg, who I dare say is the most knowledgable person in the country on cuckoo wasps instantly identified it as a Philoctetes truncatus! This is special as it is just the second time in over a hundred years that this species has been sighted in Sweden! - And all sightings but mine have been in the south of Sweden while mine was in Stockholm.
Part 1 is straight from the side here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52177535080/
Part 2 is very similar to this shot - but here I managed to focus stack two exposures, resulting in both the head and the thorax being in focus. The single exposure Part 2 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52331765835/
Here's a BTS shot showing it next to my fingertip for scale: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52177759619/