Lots of pictures of insects

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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MarkSturtevant
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Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
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Lots of pictures of insects

Post by MarkSturtevant »

I think that folks here like this sort of thing!

Ammophila procera is a large species of thread-waisted wasp. Here one is putting the finishing touches to her burrow, and soon she will provision it with paralyzed caterpillars to feed to her larvae.
ImageThread-waisted wasp by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

The jaws of Ammophila are a bit startling, but they are ideal for carrying caterpillars. Think of them as being like hot dog tongs.
ImageThread-waisted wasp by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

This is the painted lichen moth (Hypoprepia fucosa). As the name implies, the larvae feed on lichens.
ImagePainted lichen moth by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Sawflies are a kind of wasp, although they don't really look wasp-like. Many sawfly larvae look more like caterpillars, and like caterpillars they feed on the leaves of plants. This is the larva of the rose sawfly (Allantus cinctus).
ImageRose sawfly larva by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Many ants will "farm" aphids, harvesting a sugary secretion from them and offering protection in return. Here a carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is tending to its herd of aphids (Chaitophorus populcola). This was photographed from the cottonwood tree in my back yard.
ImageCarpenter ant tending aphids by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

I look for all insects, but I am always thinking about dragonflies. One of the more unique of them is the fawn darner (Boyeria vinosa). This rather odd looking dragonfly becomes increasingly active late in the afternoon, and they continue to fly after sundown -- a night dragonfly! This female landed right next to me as the sun was setting. I had never seen one before!
ImageFawn darner by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

This is an ant-mimicking nymph of a broad-headed bug (Alydus eurinus). A general rule about mimicking ants is that besides looking like an ant, an ant mimick will act like one too. This means they scurry around very quickly. Not easy to get pictures of ant mimics.
ImageBroad headed bug nymph by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

The chirping of male tree crickets are a familiar sound the world over, even to people who don't live with these insects. This is because movie studios favor the sound of tree crickets when they want that sound in their movies. So you are probably hearing them right now in your head. Anyway, this male was singing away outside of our kitchen window. I often see them in this pose, leaning against a pair of leaves. Maybe they are using the leaves to amplify or direct their singing? I don't know. But I do know that it took many attempts over many nights to get this picture. The species may be Oecanthus niveus, but that is an educated guess.
ImageSnowy tree cricket by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

hayath
Posts: 295
Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:18 am
Location: Bangalore, India
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Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by hayath »

What an enjoyable, varied set!
The light on the sawfly larvae is sweet

NikonUser
Posts: 2693
Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 am
Location: southern New Brunswick, Canada

Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by NikonUser »

Excellent
NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

Dassi
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2020 8:28 am
Location: Alberta, Canada

Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by Dassi »

A very interesting collection. I really like that you describe each insect and its unique characteristics.
My favorite is the broad headed bug nymph, I never knew that these existed.

Guido
Posts: 333
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:02 am

Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by Guido »

Fine pictures!

I think you used special flash techniques ;)

Lou Jost
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Location: Ecuador
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Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by Lou Jost »

I never get tired of these beautiful and informative posts from you!

Sumguy01
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Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:05 pm
Location: Ketchikan Alaska USA

Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by Sumguy01 »

=D> Very nice.
Thanks for sharing.

zook
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:08 pm
Location: zemun/serbia/milky way

Re: Lots of pictures of insects

Post by zook »

This wasp is very interesting, good behavioral shots.

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