Last spring I traveled to Phoenix for a teaching conference, and of course I took the opportunity to bring the camera. Here are some of the arthropods I found.
Flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata).
Flame skimmer dragonfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Flame skimmer dragonfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
American ruby spot damselflies, female and male (Hetaerina americana)
American rubyspot damselfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
American rubyspot damselfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Texas hackberry emperor butterfly (Asterocampa celtis)
Texas hackberry emperor by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus). This is a close relative to the monarch butterfly. Queen butterfly caterpillars grow on a species of desert milkweed.
Queen butterfly by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Through this time, I was frankly struggling dealing with the bright sunlight and reflective sand. All my usual settings were coming out over-exposed. I had to check and re-check my settings.
Pallid-winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallipennis).
Pallid-winged grasshopper by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
I saw a few Western diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus atria). This one was about 2 feet long, and was crossing a road. It took shelter as I reached it with the camera. After a time I felt a strong empathy with this little guy who just wanted to be left in peace. I wished it well and moved on.
Diamondback rattlesnake by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
The black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans) was under bark. I was holding the bark in my left hand, immediately out of frame.
Western black widow spider by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus). This too was under bark.
Arizona bark scorpion by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
What an adventure! But for me the highlight was in the famous Desert Botanical Garden where I came across this spectacular tarantula hawk (Pepsis thisbe). This is our largest wasp -- a real giant. Others that I would see were hunting for tarantulas, and there was no keeping up with them. But this one was very busy on a patch of desert milkweed and so was very cooperative.
Tarantula hawk by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Tarantula hawk by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Tarantula hawk by Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
An "expedition" to Arizona
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- MarkSturtevant
- Posts: 1957
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An "expedition" to Arizona
Mark Sturtevant
Dept. of Still Waters
Dept. of Still Waters
The high key in the 3rd image works particularly well. The light's a bit harsh on some of the others, though shooting moving subjects in full sun is generally something I avoid. I can't say I have any recommendations on how one could shoot in that scenario unless you had a reflector/diffuser and a less active subject.
- MarkSturtevant
- Posts: 1957
- Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2015 6:52 pm
- Location: Michigan, U.S.A.
- Contact: