Mastodawn

Mark McCaughrean

It's sunny & warming today, but I can't say I'm looking forward to the 35ºC temperatures predicted this time next week 🥵

Anyway, we have some new visitors to the garden.

First, a nice macro stack of a birch catkin bug (Kleidocerys resedae; 🇩🇪 Birkenwanze).

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

Mark McCaughrean 1d ago

Second, a black banded bee fly (Hemipenthes morio). The German name is much more interesting: it's the Zickzacklinien-Trauerschweber.

Nothing like as good a picture, because it ran me a merry chase from flower to flower, landing only briefly, then flying off when it sensed I was moving in to take a shot 🤷‍♂️🙄

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#InsectsOfMastodon 🪰
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

Mark McCaughrean 1d ago

And there are many goldenrod crab spiders (Misumena vatia; 🇩🇪Veränderliche Krabbenspinne) in the flowers, waiting patiently for unsuspecting bees & other insects to land nearby.

Making them great subjects for a macro stack.

As the German name suggests, they're very variable colour-wise, this one in all lemon.

#Heidelberg 🏰
#Photography 📷️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
#BugOfTheDay 🐞
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#ArachnidsOfMastodon 🕷️
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲

Petra van Cronenburg 22h ago

@markmccaughrean As you criticise quite often your own photos, I have to leave a note: Do you know that your photos are much better than you think yourself?! 🤫

Mark McCaughrean 21h ago

@NatureMC You are far too kind to this long-suffering & seemingly incurable perfectionist 😬

Knud Jahnke 21h ago

@markmccaughrean @NatureMC

Well, it's no real surprise: The other camera Mark uses once in a while is a $10 billion space telescope, perfectly focussed, and the targets of interest don't just move away. No wonder he's sometimes discontent with the smol things not standing still!

Fanfan 🐻 nihiliste ✋️🔺️🤚20h ago

@knud @markmccaughrean @NatureMC astro has it way too easy

Mark McCaughrean 20h ago

@jaztrophysicist @knud @NatureMC Yeah, but what Knud didn't tell you was quite how wobbly that $10 billion telescope actually is, & without some very clever stabilisation technology, every one of its pictures would be as fuzzy as my macro shots.

Plus, I'd just like to point out that things *do* move in space, & part of my JWST GTO programme was to look at exactly that happening in protostellar outflows 🙂

Fanfan 🐻 nihiliste ✋️🔺️🤚20h ago

@markmccaughrean @knud @NatureMC I know, because i've spent some of my career analysing solar images with 45s sampling !

Petra van Cronenburg 4h ago

@markmccaughrean Please, tell more! 🍿

@jaztrophysicist @knud

Petra van Cronenburg 4h ago

@knud I'm fascinated! And I like that connection between *very* far away and wibbly-wobbly stardust with many legs on planet Earth leaves.
What I ask myself (learning German bug names with his photos): What would have happened, if Germans had given names to stars? Like the Zickzacklinien-Trauerschweber!

@markmccaughrean

Petra van Cronenburg 4h ago

@markmccaughrean I'm one myself, I know that disaster. 😁

G 🇮🇹20h ago

@markmccaughrean do you have these there? we commonly call them "priests" 😄 pic not very focused because it kept moving and this S24 camera in my opinion is worse than my old S8's

Mark McCaughrean 20h ago

@ranx Wow – that's very pretty. It's a nine-spotted moth in English, Amata phegea in Latin. I haven't ever seen one, but they are occasionally photographed in this part of Germany, so I'll keep an eye out.

G 🇮🇹20h ago

@markmccaughrean when i was a kid it was very common to see them here but now i think they are more rare than fireflies 😔 yesterday I was at friend's with plenty of wild animals around + the "priest" 🙂 a nice place

Armin Hanisch 3h ago

@markmccaughrean That *is* a good photo, Mark! First one I see this good. If I hadn’t deleted them I could show you dozens of blurry „and there it takes off“ images of that little buddy 😆🤣🤣
(edit: typo)

Mark McCaughrean 3h ago

@Linkshaender Ha – thanks, Armin, you're too kind. I suspect that when it gets hotter (this week even 🥵), I may have a chance to catch it resting for longer.

Here's one I saw last year – closer, but still could be better 🤪

Armin Hanisch 2h ago

@markmccaughrean Oh that’s also a great shot! I guess most shutterbugs (pun intended) are never content with their images. I am currently trying to get a good one from a Xylocopa violacea (Holzbiene) that visited us on the terrace, always when I have no camera ready 🤣😆

Mark McCaughrean 2h ago

@Linkshaender Oh yes, Xylocopa can be very hard to catch, in part because they're huge & hard to get good DOF on, but also because at this time of year, they tend to buzz around quickly.

In a month or so, they'll settle for longer on our sweetpeas, & I hope I can get some nice shots – here's one from last year with a bonus smaller bee & crab spider.

BTW, be careful with the ID: X. violacea & X. valga are very difficult to distinguish.

Armin Hanisch 2h ago

@markmccaughrean Oh nice! Yes, that’s the Xylocopa that I‘m trying to get a photo of, deep blue wings. As I live in the south-east of Bavaria, both violacea and valga seem to be present. Need to read on how to distinguish them. Another challenge: I‘m strictly into „available DOF“ for macro shots, no stacking. 😎

Mark McCaughrean 2h ago

@Linkshaender Interesting. I played a bit with stacking using PS, but it was never really satisfactory. But I've been using ShineStacker recently, and it does excellent work. Of course, you need the right subject & good luck, but I've been pleased with the results.

Good luck with the Xylocopa – we have a bunch that whizz around in the summer, often dive bombing me while I'm shooting other insects.

Armin Hanisch 2h ago

@markmccaughrean If i get an image, I‘ll post here!