Green lacewing larva (Chrysopa sp.) with aphid

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:26 pm

I watched a couple of these larvae actively hunting in the central disk of some daisies. They were so covered with pollen that at first I could not identify them. On occasion they would walk up and down the length of a petal looking for a meal, where this one found an aphid. Sucked it dry in about 3 or 4 minutes!

It was quite breezy out, so it was nearly impossible to focus. I carefully picked the flower and set it down on an outdoor table.

This was photographed at a little over 3:1 with the Canon 65mm MPE. For DOF purposes I was only able to get two shots where it was relatively still. Those two were stacked in ZS.

puzzledpaul · Post by **puzzledpaul** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 2:40 am

Nice find / catch, Charlie ... am curious about the settings / lighting / setup etc - any chance of adding these, please?

Ta

pp

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:26 am

Paul,
Extremely low-tech

Nothing more than a piece of white paper held atop a hot-shoe mounted flash to bounce enough light onto the subject. I used an aperture of f6.4 (which would make the effective aperture somewhere near f26) and an ISO of 200. The 65mm MPE was tripod mounted on the Novoflex focusing rail that I normally use with this lens.

The 65mm MPE is a tricky one to light effectively with a "mounted" flash, because of the short working distance, the diameter of the front of the lens, and the degree to which it extends when focused closely. The Canon MT-24EX and Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX are the easiest solutions since they attach to the front and move with the lens as it extends. One "downside" is that they are expensive. Another "downside" is that they position the light source very close to the subject, which can make the "depth-of-even-illumination" very shallow. Depending on the subject and composition, this might result in "bright" objects in the foreground, and/or rapid darkening as objects get more distant.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the result using this low-tech solution. (Not too useful for verticals though

)

AndrewC · Post by **AndrewC** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:19 pm

Charles Krebs wrote:(Not too useful for verticals though )

Why not just have your paper rubberbanded on the side of the flash - which is now the top surface ? Another quick'n'easy one I thought of while sitting on a bumpy commuter flight recently was to use a white barf bag banded to the flash to form a tube and cut out a window over where your subject would be. Haven't tried it though ...

Andrew

puzzledpaul · Post by **puzzledpaul** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:46 pm

Thanks, Charlie for taking the time to post details etc.

It reminded me of something similar I tried before making the macro arm that I use now - still with a 550ex too.

<< One "downside" is that they are expensive >>

Indeed - Have been tempted, but have resisted - and the 550 is fine for std photos too.

<< Not too useful for verticals though >>

True - but not a problem here, since my macro rig includes a landscape / portrait 'flipper'.

A good result though

pp

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:08 pm

Those mandibles are so typical of lacewing larvae.

Harold

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:09 pm

Yikes.. looks very sharp indeed.. wouldn't want to mess with it.

Lovely photo.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:39 pm

Aynia wrote:Yikes.. looks very sharp indeed.. wouldn't want to mess with it.

They're small but they'll take on a person anyway, I learned! (HERE)

--Rik

Harold Gough · Post by **Harold Gough** » Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:01 pm

I used to run lab cultures of C. carnea and, if I was late with the daily feeding, I got quite a few bites from the larvae.

Harold

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Fri Jul 17, 2009 4:52 pm

Nicely captured, Charlie and the larva!