It's on the tip of your tongue

elf · Post by **elf** » Wed Jun 09, 2010 11:58 pm

but you can't say it. Here's why:

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:14 pm

Urgghh... Now just what exactly are we looking at???!!!

You might be trying to trick us with the title....??!!

elf · Post by **elf** » Thu Jun 10, 2010 6:09 pm

I don't know what it is. I thought it was an insect when I first started shooting it. It's on the tip of a fuchsia pistil.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Jun 10, 2010 7:58 pm

It's the exuvium (shed skin) of an insect. Hard to tell from this angle what kind, but I suspect it's a mayfly. They have the odd trait of molting one last time after acquiring wings. As a result, you're liable to find their exuvia pretty much anywhere. I usually notice them on house surfaces (window screens, walls, doors, etc.), but I would not be surprised to find one stuck on the end of a fuchsia pistil either. Some of the mayflies are quite small when they molt this way. The ones shown HERE have already had their last molt (judging by the clear wings), but they were just the same size before that.

--Rik

elf · Post by **elf** » Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:01 pm

rjlittlefield wrote:It's the exuvium (shed skin) of an insect. Hard to tell from this angle what kind, but I suspect it's a mayfly. They have the odd trait of molting one last time after acquiring wings. As a result, you're liable to find their exuvia pretty much anywhere. I usually notice them on house surfaces (window screens, walls, doors, etc.), but I would not be surprised to find one stuck on the end of a fuchsia pistil either. Some of the mayflies are quite small when they molt this way. The ones shown HERE have already had their last molt (judging by the clear wings), but they were just the same size before that.

--Rik

I think that's the perfect explanation, but I still like my alternate reality one as well