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country flag of Exploring photos taken in Netherlands

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  • Jeweled flower mantis, extreme macro Note: dried specimen.

Upper body shot in its spread position. Wing detail:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108499/jeweled_flower_mantis_fake_eyes_on_wing.html
eyes:

https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108417/jeweled_flower_mantis_eyes.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108554/jeweled_flower_mantis_foreleg.html Creobroter gemmatus,Extreme Macro,Jeweled flower mantis
    Jeweled flower mantis, extreme macro
  • Triops This is a Triops. I gave my son one of those triops breeding kits. It was a big succes!
This one lived just under three months which is very old for a triops. Picture made with a revesed 35mm pentax lens Geotagged,Netherlands,Spring,Triops,Triops longicaudatus
    Triops
  • Eristalis tenax covered with pollen. I saw this only one time and was able to take a picture. Never seen this sinds. 
This is a Drone fly or in dutch Blind Bee. which is covered with pollen. (Please zoom in on the picture to see the star like pollen). Drone Fly,Drone fly,Eristalis tenax,Geotagged,Netherlands,Spring,blinde bij,pollen
    Eristalis tenax covered with pollen.
  • Phyllium Giganteum - Giant Walking Leaf I got many more angles and closeups to share later, but here's a first body shot of a specimen of Phyllium Giganteum. 

The leafs are from our garden, not neccesarily the ones it is found on in the wild. Needless to say, the camouflage of this insect is extremely convincing, even more so if you consider it would typically be found in dense forests. 

Ironically, it feeds on leafs itself, and may sometimes get a bite out of itself by unsuspecting other leaf feeders. When it is under attack, intentionally or not, it generally plays dead. It doesn't have the speed to escape and stays within character until the very end.

Having worked with this specimen for a day, I just can't get over how flat it is. Phyllium giganteum
    Phyllium Giganteum - Giant Walking Leaf
  • The Sumatran Tiger - Panthera tigris sumatrae Not a real wild-life shot, but for me my best zoo shot ever. Hope you like it too :) Geotagged,Mammals,Panthera tigris sumatrae,Sumatran tiger,The Netherlands,Tiger
    The Sumatran Tiger - Panthera tigris sumatrae
  • Hypnoteyes - Barn Owl Who could resist eyes like these? ;) Barn Owl,Tyto alba,birds,kerkui,owl,portrait,vogel
    Hypnoteyes - Barn Owl
  • Corythucha ciliata My first images of this species from the Netherlands, found under bark of a Sycamore/Plane tree (Platanus) on the Vrijthof in Maastricht (one of the few currently known populations in the Netherlands) 
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/71888/corythucha_ciliata.html Corythucha,Corythucha ciliata,Heteroptera,Lacebug,Tingidae,invasive species,nl: Platanennetwants
    Corythucha ciliata
  • Calosoma inquisitor having lunch Devouring a small caterpillar... Calosoma,Calosoma inquisitor,Carabidae,Carabinae,Jane's garden,Lesser Searcher Beetle,nl: Kleine poppenrover
    Calosoma inquisitor having lunch
  • Comatricha nigra Height about 2mm on soaking wet wood, probably oak. Comatricha nigra,Geotagged,Netherlands,Winter
    Comatricha nigra
  • Mecynorhina harrisi - head top view Specimen of Mecynorhina harrisi, specifically subspecies Megalorhina harrisi peregrina from Tanzania. As you might guess, this is the male.
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114992/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_upper_body.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114993/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_full_body.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114994/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_side_view.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114995/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_head_frontal.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114996/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_head_side_view.html
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/114997/mecynorhina_harrisi_-_head_top_view.html Extreme Macro,Mecynorhina harrisi
    Mecynorhina harrisi - head top view
  • Trichius gallicus Found this beetle today, in a little park in my hometown Wijk bij Duurstede the Netherlands. French Flower Chafer,Geotagged,Netherlands,Summer,Trichius gallicus,Trichius zonatus
    Trichius gallicus
  • Moor Club On the right time and season you can find this fungi on the moor, found this group near Leusden the Netherlands Clavaria argillacea,Fall,Geotagged,Netherlands
    Moor Club
  • The Devil's coach-horse beetle Found this beetle onder a log today in Leersum the Netherlands 15-11-2020 Devils coach-horse beetle,Fall,Geotagged,Netherlands,Ocypus olens
    The Devil's coach-horse beetle
  • Eurydema oleracea - Eggs  Eggs,Eurydema,Eurydema oleracea,Hemiptera,Heteroptera,Jane's garden,Ovae,Pentatomidae,Strachiini,nl: Koolschidwants
    Eurydema oleracea - Eggs
  • The red fox - Vulpes vulpes Headshot of a Red Fox staring at the camera. Canidae,Closeup,Fox,Geotagged,Mammals,The Netherlands,Vulpes vulpes
    The red fox - Vulpes vulpes
  • Ozyptila sp., extreme macro, Netherlands Whilst playing with our cat in the backyard, I noticed some movement in the grass, a tiny crab spider. Unusually small compared to how I normally find them, and I wasn't expecting them on the ground. This one I roughly estimate at 4-6mm wide for the abdomen, so without legs.

I sacrificed this one. To repeat my earlier take on this: I prefer to use arthropods found dead (about 75% of cases), yet sacrifice on an exceptional basis, within moderation. Only if it's a species not done before, or if the subject is meaningful or promising. And I will always disclose it.

Technically, I'm pleased with the result, which doesn't happen a lot when it comes to extreme macro. The interesting "making of" note for this one is that I used a tunnel diffuser. Which is a very fancy way of saying that I enclosed the subject entirely with a paper cup, and then aimed my flash unit directy to the outside of the cup. The paper texture causes soft spread light, yet due to the shape of the cup, light also bounces inside of the cup, in all directions. Altogether, this creates a relatively soft and even light in all directions.

It's a delicate process for me to pull this off currently. Positioning the cup without touching anything else is stressful, but once done, you lose focus light. There's almost no distance between the front of the lens and the beginning of the cup, so hardly any way to get any preview light in there. Therefore, everything needs to be ready, calculated and programmed before taking this step.

Ways around this would be to have a very strong permanent light next to the cup, to at least have *some* preview light. Or, to have the cup placement procedure be more repeatable, in some permanent position where it always lands in the same spot. I'll explore that.

Back on point, ultimately the point of all of it is the subject, not the process. I find it delightfully unsettling. Should have posted it for Halloween.

As for species, I expect it is in the Ozyptila genus. This genus has relatively dull crab spiders and most are only a few mm in size.  Extreme Macro,Extreme Macro Portraits,Netherlands,WeMacro
    Ozyptila sp., extreme macro, Netherlands
  • Pool frog: who da man?! Pool frog trying to impress them frog ladies ;) Amphibians,Pelophylax lessonae,frog,kikker,pool frog
    Pool frog: who da man?!
  • Sphinx pinastri - Teneral pupa gaining colour Found the caterpillar below in prepupa state (clearly ready to become a pupa) unprotected on the ground under a pine tree:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/102499/sphinx_pinastri_-_prepupa.html
Decided to take it home and give it shelter until next spring. Upon arriving at home it had already moulted to a fresh pupa, probably an hour or so earlier, so I documented the rest of the process of the colour turning brown from 18:00h to 14:00h the next day.

Update (June 12th 2022): Sometime in the last week (2nd week of June 2022) the glorious moth finally emerged, healthy and well. Obviously, for some reason it had decided to "skip" a year - a phenomena known from more species of moths and beetles etc. We had been checking on it regularly and keeping its make shift home somewhat moist and it would always greet us by wiggling its tail a little, letting us know it was still alive and kicking. Last check was about a week before finding the emerged moth. 4K UHD,Lepidoptera,Netherlands,Pine hawk-moth,Pupa,Sphingidae,Sphinx,Sphinx pinastri,Teneral,nl: Dennenpijlstaart
    Sphinx pinastri - Teneral pupa gaining colour
  • Ischnodemus sabuleti Ischnodemus sabuleti is one of the very few representatives of the family Blissidae (or alternatively Blissinae in the Lygaeidae) - distinctively elongate bugs, often short-winged, but this species has both short winged and fully winged individuals. Blissidae,Blissinae,Heteroptera,Ischnodemus,Ischnodemus sabuleti,Lygaeidae,nl: Slanklijfsapwants
    Ischnodemus sabuleti
  • Vespula vulgaris  Common wasp,Geotagged,German wasp,Netherlands,Spring,Vespula germanica,Vespula vulgaris
    Vespula vulgaris
  • Hazelnut weevil. 8mm. Ready to take off, took this shot today in my hometown Wijk bij Duurstede the Netherlands. 9-7-2020 Curculio nucum,Geotagged,Netherlands,Nut weevil,Summer
    Hazelnut weevil. 8mm.
  • Lilioceris lilii - Larva showing Larva showing more of itself from under the poo-camouflage Camouflage,Chrysomelidae,Criocerinae,Larva,Lilioceris,Lilioceris lilii,Lily leaf beetle,Scarlet lily beetle,nl: Leliehaantje
    Lilioceris lilii - Larva showing
  • Male Marpissa muscosa, Heesch, Netherlands A 40 shot stack at 5:1 magnification of a subject about 6-8mm in size.

Disclaimer: I sacrificed this individual. I prefer not to, it's not my style, but when I do, I will always mention it. My current approach is to use arthropods already found dead, and only exceptionally take a live one. And in that case, preferably only once per species.

The part I personally like about this photo is the background ambience. Most extreme macro photos have a clinical all-black background. It's not difficult to create a lighter or colored background during capturing, the problem is in post processing. The background tends to have a lot of artifacts and may also reveal staging tricks you don't want in the scene. Brushing those away in a non-black background is very difficult and time consuming, hence most just hide everything using all-black.  Extreme Macro,Marpissa muscosa,WeMacro
    Male Marpissa muscosa, Heesch, Netherlands
  • Buggers! 18+ Beetles ;)
PS.If anyone know which species this is, I'd love to hear it... Donacia marginata
    Buggers!
More photos.. (8,152 total)
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