First ant of the year

[acerola]

We have a frog in Hungary whitch became blue while mating (Moor Frog (Rana arvalis)). I went to the swamp and searched for it. I missed it again this year. Maybe next year.
But I found ants. So I photogrphed ants instead of frogs.
Here it is:


Lasius fuliginosus

Canon 20D + reversed 18-55mm

One interesting thing. I found something in one of the picture. It is not the sharpest one... Maybe it is some sort of parasite. What do you think?

[Ken Ramos]

Don't know why it is but ants always seem to be good subjects and with the weather beginning to warm around here there will be plenty to photograph soon. If the Cordyceps have left any

[Ken Ramos]

Could be a parasite, too bad you cannot get that ant under the objectives of a stereomicroscope for a real close look or a good set of extention tubes even. It does look as though something is erupting from the corner of the eye but from what there is to see, nowhere else. You may want to examine the entire photograph of the ant a bit further to see if there are anymore eruptions like this, especially around the leg and abdominal joints. Not all parasitic infections affect the host the same way and that can be a clue to what sort of parasite that it is, if indeed it is one.

[MacroLuv]

WooHoo!
Gordon would be greatly delighted!
A kind of those miniature spiders Ken usually found in the moss?

[Planapo]

Péter (I hope this is your first name, don´t wanna be impolite), most probably it is a mite on the eye of the L. (D.) fuliginosus.

A question concerning the gear you used: Did you use the kit lens (EFS 18-55 mm 1:3,5-5,6 II)? And what kind of reverse adapter did you use and was a bellows or extension tube in-between?

Kind regards.
Betty

[MacroLuv]

A mite? Well, than we need Jody!

[acerola]

Hi Betty!

Yes Péter is my forename, but in Hungary it is not the first.
I use a homemade reverse adapter it is made from an extension tube. Novoflex has reverse adapter but that is a way more expensive than mine.

The kit lens is not the best, but this is the only lens I can use for this purpose now.It produce relatively big DOF but not so sharp as my other equipment I use for this kind of magnification (Canon 100mm macro + 55mm lens reversed).

There is no need for extension tube, and it is not the best magnification either...

Péter

[Mike B in OKlahoma]

Very good shot here. I know from experience that ants are very tough to get posed and in focus.

That looks like a mite to me. Hopefully Gordon Snelling will come along soon. He will know more details, I'll bet! :-) As will Jody.

[Ken Ramos]

If it is a mite, it is quite an unusal one. I took the image, enlarged and sharpened it a bit, could not get much more detail out but enough to see that if it is a mite, it has some pretty stout legs, four of em' sticking up in the air.

[acerola]

I think also, that it is a mite. This ant is living in a very big colony it is preferable for parasites. Is saw hundreds or thousands of ants from that colony in this early springtime.

[acerola]

I regret this one was not so sharp. But I upload it in the original size, it has a little more detail. It was hard to focus, because the ants were running.

[Gordon C. Snelling]

Hard to tell but my money is on it being a mite. Mites are extremely common on ants. Lasius here in the states are usually boring ants but this one is a good looking ant.

[acerola]

Most of the Lasius are very similar to one another, except this one. You can tell it apart from the first sight. They are relatively big and shiny.
But I like the other Lasius as well. I like to watch and photograph them especially with aphids.

[beetleman]

Super picture...very nice DOF also. We all wish we had more magnification don`t we