Tabanus Giant Horsefly Larva
Some more from the pond photography session. I found for the first time the larva of a giant horsefly (Tabanus sp.). It had a weird habit of retracting its head!
Black belly and wasp diving beetles (Dytiscus semisulcatus and D. circumflexus)
I’ve been catching up with some editing including some pond creatures and I came across probably my best diving beetle images. I photographed 2 species that day, the black belly diving beetle Dytiscus semisulcatus. And the wasp diving beetle Dytiscus curcumflexus, named after the striped underside.
Pond Skater Gerris sp
Here are a few shots of a pond skater a took a few weeks back. These true bugs or heteropterans stand on the surface tension of the water and ‘skate’ across it to catch insects that become trapped in the water. These were all taken using my photographic aquarium, which was full to the brim,…
Backswimmers Notonecta
More from my pond photography back in February. This time the backswimmer or greater water boatman photos. These insects are one of the true bugs (heteroptera) a group of insects characterised by their mouthparts which have fused into a proboscis. You can see it clearly in this photo. I also got a couple of new…
Phantom midge larvae
I’ve finally got round to editing some photos from a pond photography session back in February. This included some of my best photos of phantom midge.
Berosus signaticoillis water scavenger beetle
Yesterday I photographed some of the creatures that turned up in a quick dip of a slightly brackish to freshwater ditch in Wat Tyler CP. Here I found what I’m pretty sure is Berosus signaticoillis a type of water scavenger beetle. It is possibly another species but Im pretty sure it is one of the…
Broad bodied chaser nymph, smooth newt tadpole and hawker dragonfly nymphs
Some more pond photos. For this broad bodied chaser nymph I used image stacking. I also tried some image stacking on some smooth newt tadpoles. And this damselfly nymph. I also took some typical macros of this hawker dragonfly nymph, which had just shed its skin and was light green in colour.
Hawker dragonfly nymph close up
Here is an image of a hawker dragonfly nymph that has just shed its skin (hence the light colouration), that I took using my photographic aquarium. I managed to increase the depth of field by using image stacking (combining a few images focused at different distances).
Pirate spider – Pirata piraticus
In June there were a number of pirate spiders Pirata piraticus living on the surface of the ponds so I caught one and placed it on the water surface in a photographic tank. I then got as low angle as possible to maximise reflection and impact of the image. This was the result:
Lesser water boatman nymph
Back in June I found a nicely coloured lesser water boatman nymph. I had never seen one with such colouration before. So I took photos from a number of angles in my photographic aquarium.