Very interesting Gustavo -- with great photos! (What a way to die: first stabbed to death -- or at least paralyzed; then your insides are liquefied and sucked-up like a milkshake!) The first one (with the winged ant) is an Ommatius sp. The second (with a leafhopper?) is an Atomosia sp., a close rela...

This ant, BTW, is a species of Pseudomyrmex see

Good suggestion Rik. Though I don't actually need new RMS - T2 adapters (I have flat ones + a Beljan cone). The Beljan adapter is very good -- but is somewhat broader at the tip (32mm); the Jinfinance adapter looks to be more tapered, closer to about 26mm at the tip.

These do look to be excellent products. However, I would much prefer to see RMS adapters from jinfinance with T mount (= T2 mount) threads (42mm x 0.75 pitch), rather than these, which have a 42mm x 1.0 pitch. All of my connectivity setups are based on the T2 mount (42x0.75) system -- which is very ...

Thanks Walt -- I understand your setup now. Yes, I think a 6 ~ 7x lens is very nice, especially with 16mm working distance.

Wonderful images Walt! I'm especially interested in #3 -- where you used the Leitz Ultropak objective. Please give us some info on your setup with this lens.

Thanks,

Eric

Thanks for the info John. I think the mixed lighting sources worked very well.

Fabulous work John -- as usual (I think #1 is just stunning!). I see you list two light sources. Are the Ikea LED's just for modeling or for fill-in on final images? I've noticed that the LED's in these lights have changed: early lamps (ca. $35 U.S.) had a cooler white than the current lamps (now $1...

1) for me: Vertical stand; Canon EOS tethered to iMac via Live View; Linear stage (462); ZS.

Really splendid work Tomas!

Fabulous series of tachinid vs. caterpillar Paul!

Eric

Wonderful field stack of a Holcocephala Gustavo; congratulations!

Eric

Charming photos Gustavo; the little robber fly is Cerotainia sp.

Regards,

Eric

Lovely shots SA; your new diffuser is working great! I especially like #2. The fly is a dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria, and it is a predator.

Eric

An absolutely fabulous set of images John -- which illustrate some intriguing natural history! Many years ago I found these same insects in western Oregon: a Lasius ant colony with little rove beetle guests, Andranes (a close relative of Claviger ), living with them. Wish I could have documented my ...