Macro Photography of Insects with an Ordinary Camera (Article in Progress)

Macro Photography* of Insects

with an Ordinary Camera, or Cellphone Camera

Dr Abe V Rotor

Macro photography is extreme close-up photography, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects, in which the size of the subject in the photograph is greater than life size. Wikipedia

Part 1 - The  Obnoxious Cotton Stainer (Dysdercus cingulatus)

   

Dysdercus cingulatus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton-staining fungi as they do so. 

                                    How do you know a True Bug? 

  Colorful early nymph stage of Harlequin Bug (Murgantia histrionica) . 

Right, last instar of nymph showing a pair of developing wing pads.

 The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an insect 

in the family Pentatomidae.

Insects are often called bugs. But the real bugs belong to Hemiptera, the Order of insects to which the Stink bug, bedbug, rice bug (atagia), black bug and green bug (Nezara viridula) are members.

True bugs emit a characteristic odor, specially when crushed. This is a practical way of telling an insect if it is really a bug. Bugs secrete a caustic substance that is corrosive to the eye and skin. (If affected, immediately wash with warm water and mild soap.)

Bugs undergo incomplete metamorphosis - egg, nymph, and adult. Both the immature and mature insects have sucking mouth parts. They subsist on the sap of plants, resulting in stunting, defoliation and death of the host plants.

The term "bug" is a spy term. Bugged, means "being secretly monitored", usually with an electronic device, such as a miniature microphone.

Bugged could mean an exaggerated zeal for something (camera bug). It could mean the failing of a machine, or the compactness of a car (buggy). Think of the surreptitious nature and other adaptive ways of the bedbug.(Cimex lectularius) PHOTO ~

Part 2 - Beetles -  Little Gladiators

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

       A.  Iridescent* Asian Jewel Beetle (Sternocera aequisignata)

*Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include wings of certain insects, feathers, butterfly wings and seashells as well as certain minerals. 

                           

          B. Click Beetle - Living Catapult: Click Beetle (kuddo         Ilk) Alaus spp. Family Elateridae, Order Coleoptera*

C. Rhinoceros Beetle - Male Oryctes rhinocerus

Part 3 - Preying Mantis 

 Dr Abe V Rotor

A preying mantis (Mantis religiosa L) catches its prey 

with specialized raptorial appendages.   

A gravid Green Preying Mantis

Part 4 - Moths: Masters of Camouflage and Mimicry

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sphinx Moths:

Polymorphism or Diversity? These three Sphinx moths have strong basic morphological characteristics, including size and color that at first glance one would not suspect their differences. The shape and position of their antennae are different, so with their "hoods". Another difference lies in the markings on their bodies and wings. In some cases a pair of eyes appears real to a would-be predator.

Halloween Moth (Brahmaea sp)

Part 5 - Other Live Specimens 

A. Phosphorescent Caterpillars

Glowing caterpillars feast on the leaves of ilang-ilang (Cananga  odorata)

B. Singing cicadas.  How many are they in this photo? Only the male sings and attracts the female. A beautiful song brings in two or more potential mates such as the case in this photo. 

 

C. Katydid, (left) a long horned grasshopper (Phaneroptera furcifera), and the field cricket (Acheta bimaculata) are the world's most popular fiddlers in the insect world.

                          D. "King Spider" (Gagambang Hari) - Argiope aurantia

Author takes a close look into its intricate hanging web. ~