Friday, April 23, 2010

Creepy Crawlies in the Garden

Window Lace Weever (Amaurobius fenestralis)

Gardens are full of thousands, if not millions, of creepy crawlies. As children we were all (well boys were anyway) fascinated by these tiny secretive bugs. My childish side comes out when I am in the garden - I just can't resist turning over stones to see whats there. Maybe they are not pretty but to me they are absolutely fascinating. What forces sculptured these amazingly complex and highly technical designs, and why?

White Legged Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)

White Legged Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)

Springtail

Lace Weever (Amaurobius similis)

Earwig (Forficula auricularia)

Earwig (Forficula auricularia)

Earwig (Forficula auricularia)

Common Rough Woodlice (Porcellio scaber)

Common Rough Woodlice (Porcellio scaber)

Centipede (Lithobius forficatus)

Bristletail (Petrobius maritimus)

6 comments:

  1. Hi - thanks for dropping by my Blog!
    Your photos are fantastic - I love creepy crawlies (except spiders) I find them fascinating!
    I hope the sun stays shining in Wicklow this weekend & wherever you're based too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have some great macro images there. What set up do you use for getting them? I especially like the millipede shots and the second woodlouse shot.

    I always think that insects are so prehistoric and I tend to think of them as mini dinosaurs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Sharon and Kerry.

    To get these shots I bring the little creatures inside and place them on a rock in the sink in my lab. I keep them for about 10 minutes and then release them unharmed. At this magnification any wind movement would make good photography very difficult. I then bring the water level up to the top of the rock thus restricting the area for the bug to run around on. I use a 180mm sigma macro lens and a remote switch. They still run around prety fast so I usually need flash in order to work at a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second. It takes a lot of shots to get the right one.

    I shot the millipede on a small twig suspended on a nail. He just ran along the twig and I took his picture - then I let him go.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So that is how you get them - I am impressed by your set up and ingenuity. I shall try something similar though I only have a Sigma 105mm macro but do have an extension tube that I use with it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love bugs of any kind....they fascinate me and did when I was a child...

    Your images are amazing, absolutely stunning......

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fotografias espetacularres, e que bichos fantásticos!

    ReplyDelete