Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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pawelfoto
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Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by pawelfoto »

I first met the scorpion fly in May. viewtopic.php?f=27&t=43598 For some time I have been admiring an unknown insect that hangs on the wall of the German youtuber and macro photographer Stefan Traumflieger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWaWDxWbaI&t=33s I was very interested in this species. Since then, I have been intensely searching for a complete male individual. The hunt lasted for several days. I followed the tips of Jason Thomas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Du4ugzhyk Finally, I was able to capture it and photograph the reproductive organs that resemble a scorpion tail with a venom stinger. In the next post I will show photos of the female and describe the mating behavior of this interesting species. Photos in higher resolution can be seen here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing I will be grateful if you can share your scorpionfly pictures
==best, Pawel
Attachments
5DMkIV + mp-e65mm x1,5 f/5,6 1/20s ISO-100, 110*150µ WeMacro, 8xLED, Zerene, PS,  retouched mounting pin
5DMkIV + mp-e65mm x1,5 f/5,6 1/20s ISO-100, 110*150µ WeMacro, 8xLED, Zerene, PS, retouched mounting pin
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR250 on 125mm tube(2,5x) ISO-100,  1/30s, 232*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED I have no idea what the "button" on the front of the eye is
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR250 on 125mm tube(2,5x) ISO-100, 1/30s, 232*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED I have no idea what the "button" on the front of the eye is
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR250 on 125mm tube(2,5x) ISO-100, 1/30s, 197*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR250 on 125mm tube(2,5x) ISO-100, 1/30s, 197*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR150, 1/20s ISO-100,  161*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED
M6M2, Mitu5x+DCR150, 1/20s ISO-100, 161*20µ WeMacro, 8xLED
M6M2, Nikon CFI Plan Achromat 10x 0.25 +DCR150, 1/10s ISO-100,    255*7µ WeMacro, 8xLED
M6M2, Nikon CFI Plan Achromat 10x 0.25 +DCR150, 1/10s ISO-100, 255*7µ WeMacro, 8xLED
Last edited by pawelfoto on Tue Jun 15, 2021 4:18 am, edited 3 times in total.

abpho
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by abpho »

Wow. Beautiful work. Very clean and crisp detail. And such an interesting subject.

Lou Jost
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by Lou Jost »

Yes, wonderful photos of a very strange insect. Which Nikon PlanApo 10x was that?

pawelfoto
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by pawelfoto »

Nikon CFI Plan Apo 10x/0.45 Infinity. The lowest price in Europe is $400 with tax and shippment https://www.mjkzz.de/collections/nikon/ ... 3937012892 Has some purple CA. I'm still looking for Mitu 10-20x in reasonable price
thanks, Pawel

Lou Jost
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by Lou Jost »

Thanks Pawel. I am a bit confused, you wrote "10x 0.45" but the link goes to a 10x 0.25. The price you quote seems more appropriate for the 10x 0.25.

rjlittlefield
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by rjlittlefield »

Lovely images! I have never seen one of these things in the wild.
pawelfoto wrote:
Sat Jun 12, 2021 10:27 pm
Nikon CFI Plan Apo 10x/0.45 Infinity. https://www.mjkzz.de/collections/nikon/ ... 3937012892
That's also a Plan Achro, not a Plan Apo. It's a nice lens -- the first model of infinity 10X I ever used. I think that brownish subjects like this tend to reduce any problem with the blue haze.

Is this the same lens used for the matching thread with the female? If so, then same problem with the labeling over there, "Nikon PlanApo10x".

--Rik

pawelfoto
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by pawelfoto »

Thank you Lou and Rik, you are absolutely right. My lens is Nikon CFI Plan Achromat 10x 0.25 MRL00102, thoroughly tested by Robert OTool https://www.closeuphotography.com/10x-lens-test I can't (?) edit the descriptions under the photos, so I can't do that correct. In Camera Raw postprocessing, I try to reduce CA through purple definge and purple desaturation.
==Pawel

pawelfoto
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by pawelfoto »

I don't know if it's a matter of lens or lighting, but RAW looks quite poor before developing, I have to improve a lot. Are your immediate results better?
== best Pawel
Attachments
sting-10x.gif

rjlittlefield
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by rjlittlefield »

pawelfoto wrote:
Sun Jun 13, 2021 10:01 am
I can't (?) edit the descriptions under the photos, so I can't do that correct.
You should be able to edit your own posts. Look for the "pencil" icon, at the left end of the list of icons, on the right side of the page.

--Rik

rjlittlefield
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by rjlittlefield »

pawelfoto wrote:
Sun Jun 13, 2021 11:19 am
RAW looks quite poor before developing
For deep stacks I usually shoot JPEG, just to avoid the extra trouble of raw processing. With good flocking & masking, I have no trouble with low contrast.

I suspect you're getting veiling glare due to reflections from the sides of your Raynox lens or extensions. The Raynox DCR lenses are vulnerable to reflections from the lens barrel, between the elements. This can be prevented by adding a ring of black paper, next to the lens, with a hole large enough to pass all the imaging light but small enough to shade the sides of the lens barrel. To be sure, remove the camera and look into the bellows/tubes by eye.

One other thing to watch out for: with deep stacks, sometimes in the stacking process Brightness "correction" will introduce what looks like veiling glare, as it tries to match contrast and brightness of all frames against contrast and brightness of a mostly out-of-focus frame at one end of the stack. Remove the checkmark on Options > Preferences > Alignment > Brightness to avoid that problem.

--Rik

pawelfoto
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by pawelfoto »

Thank you. I managed to edit the signatures - after selecting the pencil, it was enough to click on "attachments". Everything in the lens is flocked - a conical mini lens hood on the front, a sticker with a hole on the back, but it can actually be even smaller. I'll look through the camera again. I will also try with the options as you suggest. I am still learning something. I am grateful for your concern. :smt055
== Pawel

MarkSturtevant
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Re: Scorpion fly male - Panorpa communis

Post by MarkSturtevant »

A beautiful and strange insects. My local species (not nearly as pretty as yours) is common on low plants along forest trails.
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters

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