Penthicodes farinosa aeruginea, Heesch, Netherlands

This is a purchased specimen. I wasn't in the market for any specimens (never bought one before), yet the shop where I was buying some entomology needles had a small selection of cheap specimens, so figured to try it out. This one already came dried and spread.

In the wild, you're unlikely to see it like this. It will usually have its winged closed at rest, and its eyes would be much more vivid compared to this dead specimen.

This is a lateral 1:1 macro shot. Higher magnification shots:

comments (12)

Christine Young

Lion

Cool bug! I have a gorgeous Eupholus schoenherri weevil that I have been meaning to photograph, but I struggle so much with indoor photography. How do you get the perfect, black background? Posted 4 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  In this case I used the pouch that came with my Philips headphones. It's a soft matte black fabric. So it absorbs a lot of light instead of reflecting it.
  
  That said, due to the flash it still turned out as dark gray, and not full black. So next in Lightroom I used a brush to paint a -2EV exposure on that gray. Pretty easy in this case because the subject has clear edges and no fine hairs. Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Black fabric is a good idea. Black paper never looks truly black for me. But, I don't adjust it much in photoshop. I'm going to try black fabric and then editing my indoor pics in the future. Thanks for the tips. Posted 4 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Maybe reconsider that. As said, black fabric plus flash does not lead to pure black. The only reason I could remove the background is not the black, it's because the subject has simple edges.
      
      I don't need this often, but I was actually exploring a chroma screen. The thing they use in movies where they later replace that green with another background. Chroma green is such an obnoxious color that it will never appear in your subject itself, so this helps in separating it.
      
      That's the theory at least, never tried it. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Ohhh. I misunderstood. I don't speak geek as fluently as you do ;). I had no idea green screens were something that could be used for home photography. Interesting. Posted 4 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        It's a theory for now. But if it works for something moving (movie), surely it must work for a still. Let's find out.
        
        And it's chroma, not green. If it was green, it would conflict with almost every subject. I know you appreciate accuracy in facts :) Posted 4 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Sounds like a good project.
        
        And, technically, regardless of your nerd-logic, the screen is green. Posted 4 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        I think that's true if you have 4 bit vision. Posted 4 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        If I knew what that meant, I would definitely have a witty reply. But, for now, you win. Posted 4 years ago

Flown Kimmerling

Lion

Whoahhhh! Posted 4 years ago

NattyOne

Lion

That's a shot and a half!! Posted 4 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you! Still have to post the REAL macros, probably tomorrow. Although they're not necessarily more interesting. Posted 4 years ago