1. 16 May


    Even ants slack off to catch up on gossip.

    Even ants slack off to catch up on gossip.

     

  2. 16 May


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  3. 15 May


    Oedophrys hilleri, common snout beetle.

    Oedophrys hilleri, common snout beetle.

     

  4. 15 May



    audioword asked: amazing pictures! thanks! please tell me that for every 1 great photograph, there's about 4 or 5 'deleters'....

    Thanks!  But it’s really more like 40-50 deleters for every keeper!  

    Aside from getting the lighting and exposure correct, it’s really hard just getting such small subjects in focus.  When fully zoomed in, my depth-of-field is only about 5mm, so if I have the camera even just a couple millimeters too close or too far the shot is out of focus.  So whenever I get a good shot lined up I try to take at least 9-10 pictures so just by pure random chance one of them is perfectly in focus.

    Add to that the fact that most bugs don’t stand still for long and are often not standing in easy to reach places, and it can easily take a lot of failed attempts to get just one usable shot.

     

  5. 13 May


    Inchworm!

    Inchworm!

     

  6. 13 May


    Two carpenter ants.  Not exactly sure what they were doing, but I think one was harvesting plant sap/nectar and handing it off to the other to bring back to the colony.

    Two carpenter ants.  Not exactly sure what they were doing, but I think one was harvesting plant sap/nectar and handing it off to the other to bring back to the colony.

     

  7. 12 May


    Happy Mother’s Day!  Here’s a mother aphid with her babies.

    Happy Mother’s Day!  Here’s a mother aphid with her babies.

     

  8. 7 May


    “Hey, slug, where you goin?” The slug did not respond

    “Hey, slug, where you goin?”

    The slug did not respond

     

  9. 6 May


    A Giant Red Velvet mite, about 3mm long.  Basically a mini walking strawberry.

    A Giant Red Velvet mite, about 3mm long.  Basically a mini walking strawberry.

     

  10. 6 May


    Termites!  These are workers from a large colony I found in the woods in Southern New Jersey.  While termites are a major pest and can cause serious damage to wooden structures, they’re also very important for the ecosystem because they help cleanup dead trees and other decaying plant matter.

    Termites!  These are workers from a large colony I found in the woods in Southern New Jersey.  While termites are a major pest and can cause serious damage to wooden structures, they’re also very important for the ecosystem because they help cleanup dead trees and other decaying plant matter.