Stephanitis pyrioides ("Azalea lace bug")+Stereo s

[Charles Krebs]

These bugs have quite bizarre-looking structures on the dorsal side. Pretty small... the body itself is about the size of a large aphid, maybe 1.5 to 2mm long. Head to back of wings a little less than 4mm. They have really acquired a taste for a rhododendron in my backyard.





I can give some dimensions for this second shot that give an idea of the subject size...
The distance between outer edges of the eyes is 0.404mm (0.018 inch). The horizontal distance of the image itself represents 1.40mm (0.056 inch) in actual "field" size.





Edit... When I was working on these I thought it might be an excellent subject for a stereo pair. So I ran the stack through ZS again and made up this cross-eyed view. If you can view these, it really gives a good idea of the odd configuration of this aphid sized bug.

[AndrewC]

Great pictures as always and aren't insects just amazing

[rjlittlefield]

Very interesting!

I don't think I've ever seen one of these in real life, and all the photos I've noticed have been straight down shots.

These side and front views give a completely different impression of the beasts.

--Rik

[Cyclops]

Mars attacks!

[Jbailey]

Fantastic photos, Charles!

Jim

[Charles Krebs]

I've also uploaded a larger (1340 pixel wide) stereo version if interested:
http://krebsmicro.com/forumpix/ALWstereo_medium.jpg

[ChrisR]

That works particularly well. Done with ZS?

[rjlittlefield]

The stereo images are jaw-dropping awesome. Simply amazing!

--Rik

[Charles Krebs]

Chris... yes, done with Zerene. 36 image stack.

Rik... well, kudos to the software creator