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Lady Bug v. Aphid
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Lady Bug v. Aphid

by Luke Ormand

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 15, 2010130 views6 comments
Today I went to "Tern Island" where previous avian and EPJ photos have come from. We showed up a week too late and all the birds had fledged out - but the milkweed had taken over large swaths of the island. Unfortunately for the milkweed, the heat and lack of rain we have had in recent weeks resulted in a phenomenal number of oleander aphids which wreak havoc on these plants. While there were a number of monarch caterpillars (certainly a good sign on a remote island) there weren't nearly enough of these lady bugs to chow down on the aphids.

Nikon D300s 105mm f/2.8 VR HH
f/11
1/200s
ISO 1000
Natural Light

FF, Sharpened

- Luke

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on July 16, 2010 at 1:03 AM
Luke:
Nice capture of this little critters. I find ladybird challenging because of their rounded body which is difficult for macro shot due to shallow DOF. You have done well here.
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Doug Benner on July 16, 2010 at 6:34 AM
Nice presentation, Luke.
Registered on December 8, 2003, 482 Posts, 1868 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on July 16, 2010 at 8:05 AM
Nice photo, I like the detail you have captured.
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by William Brozy on July 16, 2010 at 8:15 AM
Same here - the Milkweeds also didn't hold their flowers long with the extra dry summer. A nice capture Luke.
Registered on November 9, 2003, 559 Posts, 2929 Comments
Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on July 16, 2010 at 5:39 PM
Wow, Luke. This is really nice with the Ladybug eating Aphid. The reds on the body of the ladybug provide the much needed contrast against the green. Lovely Photo :toast:
Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments
Comment posted by Balakumar Kaushik on July 17, 2010 at 1:37 AM
lovely image Luke! Nice action of the beetle chewing away an aphid. Thanks for sharing a larger version. :toast: :toast:
Registered on January 4, 2008, 98 Posts, 1403 Comments