# Insects...



## Leo G

At one time I had a Olympus C-750 and I had a good set of diopters that were able to let me get some good close ups of some insects. I had a good time and was always looking for some interesting looking or context shots. Here are a few.


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## Dori1960

VERY well done!!! Good DOF and composure in these!!!


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## Leo G

The DOF when using diopters on a high zoom lens (10x) is very shallow. On the order of 1" or less sometimes.


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## Mack

Agreed, very nice and great dof.


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## WereBo

Beautiful photos on all counts Leo G ray:


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## DonaldG

Great stuff, Leo. You have achieved what I have not yet succeeded to do. Photograph the multiple cells of a fly's eye. (as per #5) :grin:


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## Leo G

Pure luck on my part. The dragonfly was very still and didn't mind me snapping multiple shots. With the ultra shallow DOF I just got luck that I got the eyes in focus like that. When I opened the shot I was really surprised to see how nice the focus was.


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## Done_Fishin

Beautiful Leo .. Amazing work .. just love that type of photo .. and yours are really great !!


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## WereBo

I took this t'other day using the camera's 'Super-Macro' setting and zoom, just an ordinary house-fly that was sat on my balcony-rail.










I tried to get some more pics, but I got too close and literally knocked the fly off the wood :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

I tried getting some ants today but they moved too damn fast .. no sooner in the display than gone .. but then I was rewarded with a nice butterfly .. if only the wind hadn't been too strong and the sun a little less bright to frame the pictures properly. Lost focus in a few (hardly see the display due to brightness of the sun) ...

there are two ants in this photo ... running at the speed of light .. :laugh: just brown smudges in the lower left off-centre part of the picture .. 










and several here .. busy little critters never stop for a photo break :smile:










and then this butterfly .. 



















cropped the last one to this 










However I feel they don't compare to Leo's photo's .. his are awesome ..


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## sjb007

Some cracking shots from everyone. Well done to you all. ray:

Here's a couple from what I have taken...





























And this is one my wife runs from... :grin:


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## Leo G

Is that spider in a cup? LOL


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## metaldemon

gah! what kind of spider is that? =O i hate spiders... childhood is the cause... bluuegh

here is a dragonfly that was very tired of flying around my head on my holiday. so it sat down and moved no more. i took my chance with a samsung ES25 and took this picture:


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## sjb007

> Is that spider in a cup? LOL


It was one I captured in a pint glass. I caught it hanging over my wifes head one morning when she woke up!!!

@metaldemon A great photo there,excellent!


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## metaldemon

sjb007 said:


> @metaldemon A great photo there,excellent!


thanks =D


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## Done_Fishin

sjb007 said:


> And this is one my wife runs from... :grin:


:lol: .. I have no problem with spiders except one ... it jumps .. and it has 4 eyes !!!


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## Done_Fishin

metaldemon said:


> gah! what kind of spider is that? =O i hate spiders... childhood is the cause... bluuegh
> 
> here is a dragonfly that was very tired of flying around my head on my holiday. so it sat down and moved no more. i took my chance with a samsung ES25 and took this picture:


beautiful capture


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## WereBo

Hi metaldemon and welcome to the Photographers Corner :wave:

I love your dragonfly shot, the lighting, setting, framing etc. has turned out a truly beautifully vibrant pic ray: What camera do you use? The wing-veining detail is absolutely top-notch.


@ DF - I suspect it's just the camera-quality that separates your butterfly from Leo's, your final crop is beautiful, but with a high-quality camera would be stunning :grin:


@ sjb - I love the symmetry of your dragonfly on the grass-seed, that's an awesome shot ray: I love the butterfly shots, although the brown butterfly on brown wood makes it look as if it's been taken under an incandescent bulb :grin:


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## WereBo

Amendment:

@ sjb - I hope you don't mind, but I couldn't resist having a quick play with your butterfly... :laugh: - I just compressed it slightly, biased to the 'dark end' of the histogram :grin:


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## metaldemon

WereBo said:


> Hi metaldemon and welcome to the Photographers Corner :wave:
> 
> I love your dragonfly shot, the lighting, setting, framing etc. has turned out a truly beautifully vibrant pic ray: What camera do you use? The wing-veining detail is absolutely top-notch.


thanks! and its a samsung ES25 12 megapixel 4x optic zoom. =D got it for a cartoon competition on school. 2nd place. =D

i used the smart function to focus on several aspect of the picture. and yes the focus was on the wings =D


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## sjb007

> sjb - I hope you don't mind


Not at all Bo'. I may have a play with a couple of pictures myself later tonight..... :grin:


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## Dori1960

Oh my so many photos to comment on!!!

WereBo, you make a common house fly look so uncommon!!

DF, the butterfly is beautiful! Good job with the whites! Your spidey shots are very well done, very sharp!

sjb007, I love these! The moth and dragon shots are perfect! I love the POV of the first one. The spider is cool too! :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

went out cycling yesterday afternoon (what's new ?? :laugh and found a place not far from here where the dragonflies were buzzing around like crazy .. 

here's one little fella I where I slowly managed to get close and I am sure that it was watching e as much as I was it ... 

*Original*










*cropped*










*Original*

Here I am sure he is getting read to fly away as I slowly approached .. got quite close before he went .. 










*crop #1*










*crop #2*


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## WereBo

There's superb detail in those pics DF and very well framed to get the dark foliage behind the dragonfly, it makes a perfect background for the subject. That's another reason I love my camera, having an 18X optical-zoom (+ 3X digital, but I rarely use that, the pic starts to get noisy), I can stay a fair distance away from the subject and still get a good crop.

That 2nd pic looks as if the dragonfly is swearing under his breath at you :laugh:


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## Done_Fishin

WereBo said:


> That 2nd pic looks as if the dragonfly is swearing under his breath at you :laugh:


Exactly my impression too .. the wings changed position too as though he wasn't sure what was going on .. and although the facial expression doesn't change, you can tell he's not exactly happy with the intrusion .. thank god they don't sting !!! :laugh:

Edit ..

I wish I had an 18 zoom .. mine only goes 3 (4 with digital) and the little blighters were all too far away .. I have lots of photos where they are just a blur in the foreground and lots of vegetation behind them in focus ..


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## WereBo

Hehehehehe..... You could always start a 'Guess the Bug' thread :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

:lol:


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## Dori1960

Got this critter yesterday at the park!!!


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## metaldemon

@ Dori1960 =O omg! ur pro! =D


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## Done_Fishin

Dori1960 said:


> Got this critter yesterday at the park!!!


*
Beautiful Dori .. just beautiful .. love it!!

colours are great, DOF wonderful and the photo follows the rule of 2/3rds .. one third on the left and the other on the right :laugh:*


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## Dori1960

metaldemon, thanks so much! I'm not a pro tho, just got lucky:wink:

DF, thank you very much! I do appreciate it!


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## WereBo

WOW!!! A stunning photo of a stunning butterfly - Beautifully taken Dori, that should be in an environmental or specialist magazine! ray:


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## Done_Fishin

hope you don't mind me reviving this thread .. had a few new photo's to add..

had to use the flash .. it was very dark .. night time .. not bad considering .. I think .. 

1.)










2.)










3.)










4.)










5.)


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## Dori1960

Wowzer!! Those shots are awesome!!!! I love the first one with the shadow behind the spider!!!


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## sjb007

Lovely shots there DF ray:


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## Acuta73

These spider just do nothing for an arachnophobe, you do realize this?

Good pics, despite the case of the heebee-geebees I now have! :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

Sorry & I guess the last was the worst .. 

When I was going to Join the TAVR (Territorial Army Volunteer Reserves) many years ago I chose The Parachute Field Ambulance Corp .. Firstly because I liked the idea of learning something useful that I don't do every day and secondly because I am scared of height .. unless flat on my belly or holding tight to something solid .. One of the things we learnt was the motto .. Knowledge dispels fear .. :smile:


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## WereBo

Excellent pics DF, superb detail ray:


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## Done_Fishin

Forget the name of this bee .. they usually hover ..


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## WereBo

A couple of beautiful close-ups of a Hoverfly there DF, they're also known as Flowerfly or Syrphid-Fly (The bee/wasp markings are a disguise to deter predators) - The butterfly is also very well done - You did well to get that close, they always fly off when I try to get a portrait of 'em :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

you're so right .. I got that one by accident, hit the trigger and saw it fly off .. I was surprised to find that I had managed to capture it .. although I must admit that the pic above is a crop .. but I was close enough .. just not quick enough .. move very slowly when I see shots like that because I am always afraid of startling them off.


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## Leo G




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## Done_Fishin

Some nice photo's there Leo .. love the one with the fake eyes on its belly ..


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## WereBo

The detail in #1 is superb, from the fine leaf-veining to the spider apparently suspended in mid-air, beautiful!

#2 showing the spider cocooning it's prey is also excellently caught, I had a flashback to the Lord of the Rings film with Shelob the giant spider :grin:

I love the way you managed to catch the light glinting on the threads and spider's elbows/knees... errrm limb-joints :laugh: - it gives it a metallic appearance.

#4 could almost be something from my smiley-face collection, with those eyes on it's abdomen









#5 looks a big b#gger, from the scale of the window-ledge etc.


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## Done_Fishin




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## WereBo

Wonderful pics again DF - It might be worth carrying one of those small pocket-sized 'Atomisers' or super-fine mist sprays (they usually come full of ladies perfume), but containing just water - The spray is very close to mist-droplet size and really highlights spider-webs, whilst keeping that natural look.

Like Acuta, I'm not particular to having spiders crawling on me, but I can sit watching them spin their webs for hours, totally fascinated by them.


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## Done_Fishin

Thanks for the tip .. and I know what you mean .. hate the touch of the web but have no problems getting up close ..


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## Dori1960

Wonderful spider shots! But then again, I do like spiders!! ray:


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## sjb007

Some great looking shots in here. Well done to all! ray:


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## Done_Fishin

I'm sure that these critters are all over the world .. some sort of beetle tat makes cheet cheet crickety noises in the trees when it gets hot .. only you look hard all over but never find them .. 
here are a couple I found recently .. 



















This picture is a failure .. friend and possible foe .. but foe is out of focus ..










here I got them both .. 










I waited with great patience as the big bug slowly went closer and closer expecting at any moment that the stick insect would make a sudden move and devour it .. I even went over to movie mode and made a very poor movie expecting to capture some very fast moves and a triumphant banquet .. but it was not to be .. the bug suddenly started making a slow but hasty retreat .. and then both were gone 










A very strange looking bug, reminds of a cross between a frog, a fish and a beetle ..


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## Dori1960

You have Cicadas too! Cool! The shots of possible dinner are awesome!!!!!
What a wonderful find!!!! ray:


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## WereBo

A great series of pics DF, the mantis is only just out of focus but still identifiable ray:


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## sjb007

Thanks DF for a great looking set of pics :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

This fella wasn't looking too happy .. a cat had been playing with it and it's friend


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## Dori1960

Poor guy!


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## Done_Fishin

No need to take it out on me though !! :laugh: looked pretty angry actually ..


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## Leo G

Them suckers can be downright mean. If they get a hold of you in their praying grip it really hurts. I guess the cat was quick enough.


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## Dori1960

Leo G said:


> Them suckers can be downright mean. If they get a hold of you in their praying grip it really hurts. I guess the cat was quick enough.


They bite? I guess I have been lucky...



Done_Fishin said:


> No need to take it out on me though !! :laugh: looked pretty angry actually ..


Not you the cat! :laugh:


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## Leo G

Not bite, but those points on their arms are used to snatch and hold insects while they devour them. Had the misfortune of teasing one and it nabbed me. Sure startled the heck out of me and hurt for a while too.

I don't know if it would start gnawing on you if it grabbed you. I didn't want to find out.


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## Dori1960

I will be more careful in the future!


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## zuluclayman

apartment living :grin: 
wasps on their nest under my eaves


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## WereBo

An interesting development there Zulu, well photographed









Are Aussie wasps deadly, like the rest of the wildlife there? :grin:


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## zuluclayman

no - not deadly, just sting if you get caught - this is the typical nest of these types of wasps - you often find them discarded or blown down by wind, they just hang there by a small protrusion on the back of the nest - I have an old one here somewhere and I'll take a pic and post it


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## Dori1960

I admire your courage shooting them. They terrify me as I am allergic.


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## zuluclayman

@ Dori - the pic was shot from a safe distance using a 70-300mm lens, pic was using the full 300mm, and the wasps were busily going about their business, not worrying about me as I didn't represent a threat I suppose - I am not allergic but don't particularly like being stung either :grin:


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## Leo G

If you don't threaten them they will just about ignore you.


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## WereBo

Lovely shot Leo_G, good crisp detail


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## Done_Fishin

*wonderful photos ...ray: *

*Greek crane fly *


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## Done_Fishin

This appears to be a bee .. about the size of a Queen Bumble Bee (in England) .. have never seen one before like this though ..


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## WereBo

It's a pity it's too shaded to see much detail, it looks intriguing









I love the way you caught the light refracting on that crane-fly's wing in the 1st pic - I still don't like them though, their legs are too long for any normal bug :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

That Bee was a problem .. the flowers too small and it always seemed to be on the wrong side of a flower bed with little or no way of safely tiptoeing around to the other side. I just managed to grab this shot and rop it down to what you see .. hopefully someone might recognise it and give it a family name 

The crane fly just appeared recently on a hot day after I had taken a bottle of water out of the fridge .. was just about to pick it p when I saw the little fella so grabbed camera and took shots .. seemed to be more interested in the condensation than what was going on around it.


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## aparis99

test - full by AParis99, on Flickr


dirty spider by AParis99, on Flickr


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## WereBo

Great macro-shots aparis, I'm sure that spider has a 'post-party' smile that could account for the dust/dirt on it.... - Was it staggering slightly when you photographed it? :grin:


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## aparis99

WereBo - lol, it was deceased at time of photographing


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## WereBo

WOW! It must have been some party.... :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

I've got a dead locust somewhere too!! :laugh: 

This butterfly was alive & well though both before & after our encounter!!


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## WereBo

Oh DF, now they are totally excellent! Did you borrow Donald's rig for those? :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

I wish !!!! :laugh: .. think it was a little drowsy though from fighting recent high winds .. let me get really close, albeit did it slowly, and when it tried to fly away was only a short flight and down again.


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## DonaldG

I suppose I could rent out the rig :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

do you do low cost monthly installments ?? First Installment say Jan 2020 ??? :laugh:


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## DonaldG

I'll work out a deal, DF! :wink:

In the meanwhile, the following 'insects' were in the road to Madfish Bay, Western Australia (Google it)

There were 16 caterpillars, all nose to tail, crawling across the road. What was remarkable and absolutely fascinating was the fact that the wind was blowing quite strongly and the last four caterpillars were 'separated from the train by a sudden gust. Instantly, the first Caterpillar and the other 12 stopped! The #13 Caterpillar swung back and forth until it latched on to the tail of #12. Again, instantly #1 and the train continued on its journey! It was as if there was a radio communication among the members of the train!

In photo two, you can see the trail they left in the dirt.


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## Done_Fishin

*Dead Locust ... *




























*Live Locust*



















couldn't get close enough due to shrubbery and a "drop" :laugh:


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## Acuta73

Pretending to be a snake? Neat and bizarre. 

Just don't touch em, it's Oz, they're probably deadly poisonous. :wink:


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## Done_Fishin

Donald we have a similar event every year, just a couple of houses away from where I live. As yet I have never managed to capture them on film, mainly because some people seem to think that the caterpillars are pests and stamp them out !! ours are coloured differently but the effect is the same, just that your "train" looks very small compared to what I have seen here ..

found this video on youtube which will give you an idea .. probably the same type of caterpillar since Aegina is not far away from us .

The longest caterpillar chain I've ever seen.wmv - YouTube


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## Done_Fishin

Edit to above ... seems that thay are a pest .. 

The Dangerous Pine Processionary Caterpillar: A Health Hazard to Humans & Pets in Europe, USA, Japan, Australia | Suite101.com

another video .. better quality

caterpillars on the march... - YouTube


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## DonaldG

HEY, DF! Thanks for posting that. It was an amazing video.

I have one more catapillar photo. These were is a heap, almost as if they were cuddling up to keep warm. There were several 'heaps' dotted round the place. Ther were very sensitive to noise. a shout or a sudden clap of the hands, sent them int a wriggling frenzy hat laster for about 15 seconds before they settled down again. Another clap etc...


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## Done_Fishin

Hope you also noted the warning about them being dangerous to health .. we learn something new all the time .. and I have been living here 25 years now .. 

some of my biker friends complained a few months back about being allergic to caterpillars and I had no idea why .. now everything fits into place


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## DonaldG

Done_Fishin said:


> .. now everything fits into place


Absolutely
I have just had a couple of weeks in Brittany, staying with some French friends. When I arrived, I was asked if I would clean a couple of guns. (I have some gunsmithing experience from way back)

One was a 12 bore that belonged to the Grandfather. A general clean and oil etc.

The other was a 9mm shotgun that was used to shoot pine caterpillars. At first I couldn't understand what it was all about. Gerard took me out the the stand of pines in the back garden and pointed out a large white 'ball' high up in one of the pines. It was a caterpillar's nest. The idea was to shoot at the nest, making a hole in it. Come the winter, the occupants freeze to death.

After you posted the link to the Caterpillar train, I saw references and links to Pine Catapillars...Now it all makes sense - thanks...


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## zuluclayman

Acuta73 said:


> Pretending to be a snake? Neat and bizarre.
> 
> Just don't touch em, it's Oz, they're probably deadly poisonous. :wink:


ha ha - we do have our fair share of poisonous and lethal fauna here in the Land of Oz - it's a wonder we make it past our childhood :laugh:

the commonly called Spitfire is also a nasty catepillar, having similar qualities to the pine loving Processional Catepillar. It is also responsible for the defoliation of large areas if in plague proportions :sigh:


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## Dori1960

This is so amazing!


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## zuluclayman

once again the continiung battle with aphids and my roses - have so many blooms I don't really mind them having one or two to graze on. Always had an image stuck in my head after reading about how ants "farm" aphids - the article went on to say that ants were sort of cowboys herding the aphids to feed and then keeping them safe from predators. I want to see an ant in chaps! :laugh:


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## WereBo

I'm familiar with greenfly and whitefly, but what on earth are those brown things that look like parsnips with spikes?  - We don't have anything remotely resembling those here


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## zuluclayman

I think they are just another type of aphid (see here) OR they could have the more sinister explanation found here - I'll have to go check and see if they move :grin:


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## Done_Fishin

Housecleaning .. Winters & storms are coming ....


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## WereBo

WOW! They certainly are shiny :grin:

Superb quality close-ups DF, though the DoF looks a tad too narrow on the 3rd pic.


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## Done_Fishin

unfortunately caught the top edge of that twig the two ants were clearing out of the hole .. didn't realise until I saw it on the monitor ..


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## Done_Fishin

This fire hydrant held a lot of interest for a lot of bees .. i don't think it was just the dripping water that attracted them .. there were several that were entering leaving at any moment in time


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## WereBo

At this time of year, they're most likely looking for somewhere to rest-up for the Winter - At least I hope so, it'd be rather uncomfortable for 'em, if the hydrant's needed for a nearby fire after they've built their nest.


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## DonaldG

I have been clearing out our garage that has taken 32 years to pack - I have discovered many wasps in hibernation up in the rafters!


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## DonaldG

Here is one from a while back


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## Done_Fishin

ray: Master !!


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## WereBo

Yep, 'stunning' and 'beautiful' doesn't do it justice ray:


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## DonaldG

Thank you, gents.


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## zuluclayman

some macro "moving photography" from Vimeo - with that lens/tele mode setup, not much depth of field so lots of fuzzy shots you would think as subjects move about

Just Bee, GH2 Ex-Tele mode, Voigtlander 25mm f.95 on Vimeo


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## DonaldG

Very nicely done - I really enjoyed watching it. I noticed the 'fuzzy' bits were caused by the camera's auto focus. It was not too distracting - quite a charming offering...

BTW: what a nice new colour jacket you are wearing :smile: Congrats on the promotion.


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## WereBo

It's nice to see I'm not the only one who occasionally suffers cos of auto-focus :grin: - An excellent video of an fascinating subject though


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## DonaldG

There are time when Auto Focus should be switched off where it can be. 

However, it did not detract from the beauty of the video - a nice choice of music too


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## zuluclayman

DonaldG said:


> BTW: what a nice new colour jacket you are wearing :smile: Congrats on the promotion.



thanks Donald - finally caved in :grin:


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## DonaldG

zuluclayman said:


> thanks Donald - finally caved in :grin:


About bloomin' time too! :grin:


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## zuluclayman

found this when doing some tidying up of potted plants - we get lots of largeish grasshoppers that can strip a plant bare in a couple of hours, I'm constantly on patrol when these things are about


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## WereBo

With only 1 leg, it lives up to it's name of grass-'hopper'..... :grin:


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