Brazilian flower fly

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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Eric F
Posts: 246
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Sacramento, Calif.

Brazilian flower fly

Post by Eric F »

Here is a small Zerene Mac stack (12 layers - each 0.25mm; PMax) of a Quichiana sp. flower fly from Brazil. Canon 40D & MP-E 65 at 3.7x (5.6); illum. by B & L fiber optic w/ MT-24EX flash. Very limited retouching, slightly cropped vertically. Scale = 1mm.

Image

Eric

dmillard
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:37 pm
Location: Austin, Texas

Post by dmillard »

Hello Eric,

This looks like a very challenging subject! I'm curious about the setae on the eye - do they cover the entire surface? Would it be possible to post a single, unstacked shot?

Thanks,
David

Harold Gough
Posts: 5786
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:17 am
Location: Reading, Berkshire, England

Post by Harold Gough »

A dipteran with holoptic eyes so, presumably, a male.

The general impression is that it is fresh out of the pupa.

Harold
My images are a medium for sharing some of my experiences: they are not me.

Eric F
Posts: 246
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:38 pm
Location: Sacramento, Calif.

Brazilian flower fly

Post by Eric F »

Hi David,

Here is a single, unedited shot:

Image

The eye setae are unevenly distributed: the top 1/3 of the eye has dense, black setae, while the remainder has sparse, white setae. Many species of Syrphidae have uniquely different patterns of eye setae (or lack them entirely); this feature is often useful for distinguishing species.

After I posted the original (stacked) image, I thought it looked 'scruffy;' I figured I should have shot more layers -- for finer detail! My main goal was just to show that the little B&L fiber optic light guides would work OK with the Canon MP-E macro lens...

Harold,

Yes, this guy does look like he might be crawling out of his pupa. I think it is the way I pinned the specimen years ago! (Removing the pin was the extent of my retouching.)

Eric

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