Common Wasps & German Wasps - pond foraging

[dunksargent]

Swaddywell Nature Reserve (near Stamford, Lincs., UK) Cabin Pond wasp safari 8 August 2020 where currently hundreds of worker Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) and German Wasps (Vespula germanica) are foraging and drinking amongst the pond's floating foliage. The worker wasps capture and grind up insects with their mandibles but they cannot digest same because they are only capable of digesting liquid food e.g.. nectar, fruit juice, ripe fruits etc. Insect parts are taken back to the wasp nest and fed to developing wasp larvae; larvae can digest the captured insect parts and reward the adult workers by regurgitating a sugary liquid ... which the adults can digest. In late summer and autumn when there are fewer wasp larvae, the workers will seek out e.g., humans' ice lollies, ice cream, sugary drinks, and discarded cartons / food wrappers ... hence their reputation for late summer aggressiveness at humans' social gatherings. Wasps from the same nest communicate with their siblings to direct them to food sources. German Wasps have three dots on their face; the similar looking Common Wasp has an anchor mark on its face. Following close-up photos taken with Nikon 1 J5 / Nikon 1 70-300mm lens / Nikon 1 extension tubes / Zacuto optical finder ... using a mini wooden tripod fitted with a fork head ... whilst laying on a plywood board at the pond edge. One wasp took a liking to my Berlebach wooden mini tripod whilst the camera battery was being changed ... she may may have been attracted by the ash wood ... photo shows the wasp settled momentarily on the leg lock thumb screw. Many people exhibit a strong hatred towards wasps but they're fascinating and very misunderstood insects ... and deserving of more respect. They seldom attack unless provoked; I'm quite happy to lay quietly by the pond edge with them flying around me ... they have shown no aggression towards me even though there were sometimes hundreds of them within a 10 meter radius. They were more interested in drinking and foraging on the floating pond plants.

Common Wasp

German Wasp

Common Wasp

German Wasp

This specimen took a liking to my ash-wood mini tripod and momentarily examined the leg lock thumb screw whilst I was changing the camera battery. Note the three 'ocelli' simple eyes arranged in a triangle on top of the head ... non-image forming eyes but used to detect movement.

Apparatus: Nikon 1 J5 camera fitted with Zacuto 2.5x magnification optical finder / Nikon 1 70-300mm VR lens / Nikon 1 extension tubes; Berlebach mini wooden tripod (the levelling head model) fitted with Novoflex fork head. The plywood board enables tripod use at and slightly beyond the pond edge ... and foam 'mattress' usually rolled up under my chest enables comfortable camera operation when I'm laying on the board i.e. at pond level. The J5 camera was the very last Nikon 1 camera produced before the '1' range was discontinued and being deemed 'entry level', does not have an electronic viewfinder or provision for a supplementary EVF ... but its 22 megapixel sensor is the best of all the '1' range. The Zacuto optical finder magnifies the J5 monitor and also excludes ambient light ... enabling efficient composition and, when necessary, accurate manual focus. The Nikon 1 70-300mm lens was used at the 300mm setting i.e. 810mm FF equivalent. Resultant images were cropped in post processing.

Best wishes

dunk
Peterborough UK

[iconoclastica]

Those with the reflection in the water are magical!

[Guido]

Fin pictures and thx for the insight on the gear you used.

In fact you inspired

[MarkSturtevant]

Beautiful images. I too think the ones with mirror reflection are very special.
I also use a fork head on my monopod. This seems the most practical choice for steadying a camera.
I am curious that you use the optical finder. I had tried sort of device a few years back and soon stopped using it since the lens quickly steams up when I look thru it on a hot day.

[dunksargent]

Beautiful images. I too think the ones with mirror reflection are very special.
I also use a fork head on my monopod. This seems the most practical choice for steadying a camera.
I am curious that you use the optical finder. I had tried sort of device a few years back and soon stopped using it since the lens quickly steams up when I look thru it on a hot day.

Mark, I have not experienced any fogging with Zacuto finders ... I'm wearing glasses with the rubber eyecup against my glasses ... The Nkon 1 J5 does not have an EVF ... or provision for an accessory EVF .

BW

dunk

[dunksargent]

Fin pictures and thx for the insight on the gear you used.

In fact you inspired

I am planning to try with a FF camera and bellows but the 1" sensor Nikon 1 camera and lens and AF tubes is relatively compact thus easier to use.

Your M4/3 wasp image is fine .. and M4/3 apparatus more compact than using APS and FF format equipment

BW

dunk

[Guido]

I use both, FF (Pentax K1) and 4/3 Lumix GX85.

The both are ok A FF frame has more possibilities then a 4/3 frame. But the weight and the price of Full Frame....

The Gx80 and the Olympus 60/2,8 macro is a fine combination!

[Dalantech]

Love the second and third frame -wonderful light and composition!