‹ Previous Macro & Close-up Gallery Next ›

Beetle in Morning Glory

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted September 15, 201282 views11 comments

Nikon D5100 w/ Micro 200mm lens & 2 SB800 flash units
ISO 400, F22, & 1/60 sec.
RAW image processed in PSE10; 75% of original image
Location: Tucson, AZ

I found this little beetle (ID anyone?) buried nose-deep in a Morning Glory. I waited for a little while and eventually it started wandering around the flower. I liked this comp the best and thought the color scheme worked well. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for your comments and critiques.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on September 16, 2012 at 8:12 AM

Nicely done, Tonia. I like the perspective showing both the beetle (front forward) and the center of the morning glory. The beetle is well positioned. Excellent detail everywhere thanks to the f22 and the good light. Sorry, I can't help with the ID, but thanks for posting.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Porter on September 16, 2012 at 8:56 AM

This is my kind of photo :) Nice use of a a shallow dof. good sharp focus, on the beetle's face and mid-section.

I love the colour and texture, in the detailing of the beetle's body. really cool!

I have a lot of morning glory, along the fence in my backyard, but I never come across anything like this in one of the blooms.

great capture. :)

Registered on August 27, 2012, 56 Posts, 69 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 16, 2012 at 10:48 AM

Great details, colors, and use of flash Tonia, I like it.
Very cool patterns & markings revealed with this POV, well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 16, 2012 at 8:15 PM

I like the comp, Tonia. The "perforated" texture in the wings is neat.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Peter May on September 17, 2012 at 1:10 PM

Lovely. This is a buprestid beetle (metallic wood-boring beetles) in the genus Acmaeodora. I'd bet it's A. scalaris.

More info at

http://bugguide.net/node/view/37540/bgimage

Registered on November 1, 2003, 7 Posts, 239 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on September 17, 2012 at 3:10 PM

Great detail in both beetle and bloom. Love the textured wings and the morning glory makes the perfect platform for showing it off. Nice job

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on September 17, 2012 at 8:09 PM

Tonia
Lovely color in this beetle. The yellow on it body matches the yellow in the throat of the MG. No hint of flash so the lighting is nicely controlled.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Tonia Graves on September 17, 2012 at 10:31 PM

Thanks everyone for the kind feedback and to Peter for the ID!

Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments

Comment posted by Andrey Antov on September 18, 2012 at 11:34 AM

What a great shot.
Thank you for sharing.
Andrey

Registered on March 18, 2008, 292 Posts, 341 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on September 18, 2012 at 10:43 PM

Hi Tonia

A great composition, with superb detail.and good light , from the excellent use of the flash!!
Albert Darmo

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 19, 2012 at 7:10 PM

The color coordination between the beetle's rear end and the flower center is works really well. The sharpness on the beetle's head and outer parts of the flower is good. It might worth cloning out those pollen grains on the right and above, but they do add something valuable to the story. Based on the color, I think this could be an Ivy-leaved Morning Glory.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments