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March dagger moth (detail) Just having received my 2x teleconverter I went to the woods, eager to test the 2:1 magnification ratio. But being march, I could only see some ants and flies, till I spotted this moth. It made my day, and this photo showed the worth of the extra magnification.<br /> <br /> The whole moth:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63758/march_dagger_moth.html" title="March dagger moth"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/134/63758_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=JV4uKu3t5xikS0OHVQqe8TNGPhQ%3D" width="148" height="152" alt="March dagger moth The march dagger moth, photographed in march :)<br /> <br /> Detail of the head:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63757/mot_diurnea_fagella_detail.html Diurnea fagella,Geotagged,Moth Week 2018,Netherlands,Spring" /></a></figure> Diurnea fagella,Geotagged,Moth Week 2018,Netherlands,Spring Click/tap to enlarge

March dagger moth (detail)

Just having received my 2x teleconverter I went to the woods, eager to test the 2:1 magnification ratio. But being march, I could only see some ants and flies, till I spotted this moth. It made my day, and this photo showed the worth of the extra magnification.

The whole moth:

March dagger moth The march dagger moth, photographed in march :)<br /> <br /> Detail of the head:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63757/mot_diurnea_fagella_detail.html Diurnea fagella,Geotagged,Moth Week 2018,Netherlands,Spring

    comments (5)

  1. View Flown Kimmerling's profile
    Flown Kimmerling
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Wow! That is sharp! <3 What a beauty1 Posted 7 years ago
  2. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Nice! How is manual focusing with 2:1? Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Joost Thissen's profile
      Joost Thissen
      Lion
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      The manual focusing goes well. The sony display gives sharp areas a bit of moire effect which I learnt to recognize (it is different from focus peaking).
      Main problem is the shallow DOF at this magnification. At times it is better to trade resolution/magnification for DOF. Future goal is to learn and apply focus stacking.

      I choose a teleconverter because at 2:1 magnification the object distance is the same as 1:1 magnification without teleconverter. Being able to keep a distance is really beneficial in not scaring away the insects and keeping flash use easy.
      Disadvantage of the teleconverter is image quality loss. Only above f/11 sharpness is good (as you can see). The f/11+ aperture means I need a flash and am limited to macro distances.
      When I go out to photograph I will only put on the teleconverter when the situation asks for it. But then I am able to take pictures which I would have never been able to take without the teleconverter.       Posted 7 years ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Didn't realize yet that you're using a mirror-less these days! Must be nice to get a better preview on the screen.

        I can totally relate to the remarks about distance. I'm still on 1:1 and really need the 105mm, preferably it was more, to capture subjects. That said, with 47MP I don't always need 1:1, and can keep a bit more distance and crop it back in.

        I'm not using tele on macro but do use one on the 80-400mm and frankly am not happy about it. It darkens the view finder and image quality is indeed a problem.         Posted 7 years ago
      2. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
        Lion
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        Oh and I recently did my first stacks:
        Blue Passion Flower macro, Heesch, Netherlands About 2 weeks ago, I noticed how our neighbour's passion flower plant, which grows several meters during a single summer, has made an entry into our garden by "climbing" over the fence. Great, because they are wonderful flowers. I made a note to myself that as soon as I have time, I will try a focus shifting stack on one of the flowers. As I was rather busy, each day I would just observe if the flower is still there, because a single flower was blossoming. <br /> <br /> Yes, it was still there each day for the whole 2 weeks. Except that it wasn't, because I've now learned that passion flowers bloom for a single day. In other words, I was looking at a different flower every single day. Quite a mindf***?<br /> <br /> Anyway, bear with me a little as I am inexperienced in focus stacking. I've made tons of mistakes and I'm still not happy with these results, but you have to start somewhere. This is an in-house scene (every outdoor shot failed horribly due to wind) with the flower on a clamp, and a flash light for top lighting. My camera is flat on the table and I'm using the Nikon D850's inbuilt focus shifting mode, where you simply enter the number of steps and the size of each step. The background was initially not this dark yet I had to apply some brushes due to halo effects as part of the stacking process. <br /> <br /> And oh yes, about passion flowers. As said, they bloom for a single day. Another remarkable fact is regarding the mimicry of some species. Butterflies using this flower as a host plant to deposit eggs, first check if another butterfly did not already deposited eggs, to avoid cannibalism. The passion flower has a brilliant defense: it contains a mimic of these butterfly eggs: small, orange round bulbs that looks like eggs, but are purely a misleading appendage. <br /> <br /> Some different crops:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63001/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63002/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_iii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> <br /> Different experiments:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63005/white_flower_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63007/flower_stack_heesch_netherlands.html Europe,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,Passiflora caerulea,World


        Still so many beginner mistakes, but you have to start somewhere.         Posted 7 years ago

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The March dagger moth

The March dagger moth is a moth of the subfamily Chimabachinae. It is found in Europe.

The wingspan is 19–29 mm. The moth flies in one generation from March to May depending on the location.
The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, such as birch and oak.

Info 3 0
Similar species: Moths And Butterflies
Species identified by Joost Thissen
View Joost Thissen's profile

By Joost Thissen

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Uploaded Jul 27, 2018. Captured Mar 25, 2017 14:52 in Kampspoor, 5283 Boxtel, Netherlands.
country flag of Netherlands Explore Netherlands 8,314 2,306 0
  • ILCE-7M2
  • f/16.0
  • 1/200s
  • ISO50
  • 180mm