While in the New Forest by a river I spotted one of the large pond skater or water strider species on a river. So I tried out the DA*300mm, with extension tubes on for closer focus distance and attached the flash to increase the shutter speed in the poor light. These photos were the result.
Some more white background photos, this time of the aquatic predator, a water scorpion Nepa cinerea.
A couple of years ago a golf ball sized clump of white fuzz was fished out of some blanket weed on a pond dip. I had no idea what it was until I spotted the brown snorkel sticking out the water: it was the egg cocoon of the great silver water beetle! Unfortunately it would…
The Lesser backswimmer Plea minutissima is often overlooked, being quite small (about 3mm long), resembling and often mistaken for a small nymph of the ‘greater’ backswimmer (Notonecta sp.). They are a real pain to photograph, rarely stopping long enough to find such a small creature in the frame, let a alone focus on them! I…
While driving through the Cairngorms we stopped at Fraser’s bridge on Clunie Water, Glen Clunie. The wonderful bridge was too nice to ignore, even to someone like me who doesn’t do much landscape photography (though I did have to clone out a street sign out of one of the photos). I also got a shot…
Some photos taken using my photographic aquarium of a pirate spider Piraticus sp. This spider can be found around and sometimes on the surface of ponds. This one was flashing its fangs while on the water. This species should not be confused with the much larger raft spiders. This is another species to blog in…
Just a quick post and photo. I’ll have to blog about these cracking little bugs one day, but for now here is a a pic of a lesser water boatman.
Had another go at the ‘Meet the Neighbours’ style photos i.e. with a white background. Got some I’m pretty happy with. Newt tadpoles Lesser water boatman. Colymbetes fucus Diving beetle.
Photographing more pond creatures today this lesser water boatman suffered from delusions of grandeur, sitting upside down at the surface like one of its larger relatives the greater water boatman . This algae eater is not going to kid anyone though, for as well as being smaller, it lacks that needle like mouth that the…
Regular readers will know I photograph pond creatures on a fairly regular basis, but up until today I have never managed a shot I’m happy with of a Water louse Asellus aquaticus. I catch them on most pond dips, but because they are so common, combined with the fact they have the habit tucking themselves…