Ants herding aphids ...

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Sven Bernert
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Ants herding aphids ...

Post by Sven Bernert »

I took the dust off my macro gear last weekend for the first time after a very long break, and I have to say: macro is still my first love!

Gear: 30D, MP-E65, Canon Ring flash, tripod, ballhead (without rail), taken at either f/11 or f/16 in manual mode, all images except for the last one are full frame, the last one ist a 50% crop from vertical

Image

Image

I'm not sure about this "creature":
Image
I think this is young adult loosing its skin. All helpful information are very welcome :)

Images do look small because they are 750 pixel on the longest side and since this exceeds the posting guidlines I had to choose the next smaller size that fototime offers. Call me lazy for not uploading a second set of images :roll: :lol: While we are at it, I hope three images in one thread are okay. If not please feel free to remove what's to much.

Thanks for looking :) It seems like a very long time since I put something up here .. :roll:

Sven
If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it. - Jay Maisel

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twebster
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Post by twebster »

Hi Sven, :D

Maybe your lens got dusty but your technique did not suffer. These are great images, my friend. :D I especially like the first image. What nice details. :D That last image of the "creature" looks to me like an immature true bug, Hemiptera, of some sort. When they are this small it is tough to tell what they will grow up to be. Good to see you back and posting, my friend. :D

Best regards as always, :D
Tom Webster
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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Awwww! You guys and that MP E65! Like I haven't spent enough already. I want one though! :lol: Excellent shots Sven :D Like Tom, I like the first one but the rest are excellent too. Glad to see you've dusted off the gear and began posting again. :D
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Sven Bernert
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Post by Sven Bernert »

Job and the related traveling eats most of my time, during the last two years it was tough to find some spare time at all. And it doesn't look like it will get any different in the near future. But being out in the field with the gear is like doing something for my soul hehe :wink: :D

Thanks for looking guys, I'll post some more images soon.

Sven
If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it. - Jay Maisel

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Sven Bernert
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Post by Sven Bernert »

Tom (and everyone else :) ), I keep thinking about the insect in the last image: it is roughly the size of a smaller (but adult) aphid. Could it be that what we are facing here is an aphid covered in mites shortly before it is going to die? I went out twice to get additional images but it is gone, I can’t find it.

Here is a larger version of the above image:

http://www.fototime.com/7D938E0EE59091A/orig.jpg

Thanks,
Sven
If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it. - Jay Maisel

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Sven, I have studied your bigger picture, and I can't make sense of it. I have not seen anything like it. My impression is that this is definitely not a healthy insect shedding its skin. The abdomen is collapsed and wrinkled, almost as if the innards had been sucked out. I can't see anything in the photo that looks like a mite, and it seems like you've got enough magnification that one would be recognizable. I presume from the posture that this animal was still alive. Otherwise it would remind me of the carcass left sucked dry by a spider. There's a host of possibilities for what's wrong with this animal: viral, bacterial, fungal, defective metabolism, parasitizism (with parasites recently left), probably others. Who can say which? As it is, about all I can guess from the photo is "severely dehydrated, not much time left".

Sorry to not be more helpful. :(

--Rik

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Sven Bernert
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Post by Sven Bernert »

rjlittlefield wrote:As it is, about all I can guess from the photo is "severely dehydrated, not much time left".
Sadly all other emails I got are indicating the same. So, I guess we're facing another not_so_nice side of mother nature here. Thanks anyway for taking the time to comment.

Best,
Sven
If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you're not out there, you'll only hear about it. - Jay Maisel

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twebster
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Post by twebster »

Hi ya' Sven, :D

I've looked this image over and over again. I can't point to anything definitive but I think this aphid is a victim of a parasite attack, albeit very tiny parasites. There are a couple of repeating shapes that look suspiciously like eggs. Also, it has that "eaten from the inside, out" look to the carcass. :D

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, my friend.
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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Nice images Sven and interesting ones as well. I can understand the travel and time thing, it is hard when work interferes with photography time :lol:
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