Robber Fly Depositing Eggs on Steel Cable

Every 30 days the site administrators will pick a favorite macro or close-up image from one of the "Macro and Close-up" galleries to be featured on the front page of the www.photomacrography.net website.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

A-PeeR
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 9:46 pm
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Robber Fly Depositing Eggs on Steel Cable

Post by A-PeeR »

Somehow I don't think the larva are going to be real happy. Sigma 105 macro on 36mm tubes, 430 EX-II with DIY concave diffuser:

Image

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23543
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Post by rjlittlefield »

That's a spectacular picture! How did you come to see this and be in position to shoot it??
Somehow I don't think the larva are going to be real happy.
I'm thinking they'll probably be OK. Mommy just took a high-tech spin on normal behavior. According to http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/ben ... _flies.htm:
Female Asilidae deposit whitish-colored eggs on low-lying plants and grasses, or in crevices within soil, bark, or wood. Egg-laying habits depend on the species and their specific habitat; most species lay their eggs in masses, which are then covered with a chalky protective coating.
--Rik

A-PeeR
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 9:46 pm
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Post by A-PeeR »

Thank you Rik. Out for the morning shooting macro and it started getting a wee bit hot so I took a shade break. I noticed Dragonflies perched on the steel cabling of a cattle fence. I thought it might make an interesting macro setting so fired off a shot but the dragon was quick to flight. Not to be deterred, I walked the fence line and noticed all sorts of critters on the cables. Usually I have a hard time sneaking up on robbers but this one was preoccupied and paid me little mind. I crouched and approached very slowly. I fired off a few shots at ~12" to get a feel if it was going to fly off or stick to the task at hand. I kept inching forward shooting shots at different working distances until I got to MFD. Robber was oblivious to the overhead diffuser and my firing off shots. I shot a few frames for stacking but haven't thrown them into Zerene yet. I hope to get to that in the next day or two.

I truly enjoy macro opportunities like this. Not only are you getting a chance to capture a good photograph but you also get to witness extraordinary events through the viewfinder.

Thanks for the link. Reading about the larval feeding habits I don't think they will find much on the cable. Guessing they will have to drop to the ground to find food, water, and shelter.

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23543
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Post by rjlittlefield »

Thanks for the additional information. That sounds like a very fun day. All my experiences with robberflies have been like you first describe -- a hard time sneaking up on them.

--Rik

liuto
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 5:32 am
Location: Austria

Post by liuto »

A really spectacular shot! Great!

Ken Ramos
Posts: 7208
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

That is an awesome shot! 8) Chances like that don't come around to often, at least for me they don't. :)

A-PeeR
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 9:46 pm
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Post by A-PeeR »

liuto wrote:A really spectacular shot! Great!
Thank you for viewing and taking the time to comment liuto.

A-PeeR
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 9:46 pm
Location: Houston, Texas
Contact:

Post by A-PeeR »

Ken Ramos wrote:That is an awesome shot! 8) Chances like that don't come around to often, at least for me they don't. :)
Thanks Ken, I appreciate the input. That don't seem to come all that often for me either. I have to say, when I first started shooting macro I'd get so excited I was sure to foul up the shot one way or another. At least now, with some practice under my belt, I have a chance of capturing a decent image.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic