Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted January 21, 2012118 views10 comments
I think we should do this more often, a Macro theme!
This fly is a species I photographed in Madagascar. I have no clue about the name of this beautiful orange-legged fly. Maybe I discovered a new species!
D300, Sigma 105, 1/160, F5.6
Comments
10 comments
Comment posted by Chris Grabski on January 21, 2012 at 12:59 PM
It's a very interesting specimen. I like the way you use the leaf. Very good shot.
Registered on April 29, 2011, 122 Posts, 431 Comments
Comment posted by Hali Sowle on January 21, 2012 at 2:52 PM
This is one cool looking fly. Great leaf it's on with all the hairs on it too.
Registered on January 9, 2008, 36 Posts, 582 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on January 21, 2012 at 4:34 PM
Certainly a new one to me, Ellen, but then, I've never been to Madagascar. Perfect DOF to separate the fly and leaf from the BG, and there's good detail in the fly notwithstanding the black body. Excellent overall.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Jones on January 21, 2012 at 5:19 PM
I love the composition, with the beautiful, curve of the leaf and interesting, yet nicely blurred background.
The details of this interesting insect are very good, too. Unfortunately, even with everything nicely in focus, it's impossible to count the wings. If you have photographs of this from other angles, you would probably see that there are four wings because this is a sort of a wasp (order Hymenoptera) -- not a fly (order Diptera). Flies typically do not have very long, filamentous antennae like this, and the head and mouth parts are typical of many wasps. That "tail" -- an ovipositor -- makes me think that it's a horntail (probably in the family Siricidae), but the head looks more like an Ichneumonid wasp (family Ichneumonidea) which also have elaborate ovipositors. Some sawfies (in several families which are also wasp relatives despite the name) also have ovipositors somewhat like that, but this looks more like a horntail. Insect ID is a fascinating, but often confusing field.
Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments
Comment posted by Ellen deBoer on January 22, 2012 at 5:08 AM
Thanks guys for your comments!
Special thanks to Wayne for your correction and explanation about wasps. Indeed it looks more like a wasp than a fly.
Registered on March 16, 2006, 419 Posts, 2076 Comments
Comment posted by Basil Greber on January 22, 2012 at 5:22 AM
Great use of the leaf to lead through the frame. The details on the wasp are great, and it's a very interesting specimen. Well done. Only improvement I could think of is a somewhat cleaner background, but I realize that in the field, you've got to work with what you're presented with.
Registered on November 8, 2005, 219 Posts, 1340 Comments
Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on January 22, 2012 at 5:56 AM
Very nice detail and a fine presentation on this one- Agree with Wayne about the Hymenoptera order for ID- Very well done, Fabio
Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments
Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on January 22, 2012 at 11:26 AM
That definitely looks like a type of wasp, not a fly! But your composition is very nice & I like that the hairs one the underside of the leaf are included in your DOF. Very good looking insect in any event!
Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 28, 2012 at 2:33 PM
This looks like a species of small Narrow-Waisted Solitary Wasp, subfamily Sphecinae..Could be (Sphex nudus)
Nice details and colors Ellen, like the curve of the grass perch through the frame and this soft BG.
Well done
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Larry Lynch on February 5, 2012 at 3:02 PM
Wonderful colors and love the bg. Beautiful detail and comp.
Registered on September 16, 2006, 773 Posts, 9940 Comments
Comments
10 commentsThe details of this interesting insect are very good, too. Unfortunately, even with everything nicely in focus, it's impossible to count the wings. If you have photographs of this from other angles, you would probably see that there are four wings because this is a sort of a wasp (order Hymenoptera) -- not a fly (order Diptera). Flies typically do not have very long, filamentous antennae like this, and the head and mouth parts are typical of many wasps. That "tail" -- an ovipositor -- makes me think that it's a horntail (probably in the family Siricidae), but the head looks more like an Ichneumonid wasp (family Ichneumonidea) which also have elaborate ovipositors. Some sawfies (in several families which are also wasp relatives despite the name) also have ovipositors somewhat like that, but this looks more like a horntail. Insect ID is a fascinating, but often confusing field.
Special thanks to Wayne for your correction and explanation about wasps. Indeed it looks more like a wasp than a fly.
Nice details and colors Ellen, like the curve of the grass perch through the frame and this soft BG.
Well done