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Who's Doing a Headstand?
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Who's Doing a Headstand?

by Lucy VanSwearingen

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted August 5, 2017101 views8 comments
I found this little insect in my garden yesterday.  I think his eyes are very cool, but I don't know who he is.  I thought I found him a couple of times, but couldn't find him.  Could you help?  And, what do you think of his headstand portrait?

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by Paula LeVay on August 5, 2017 at 9:56 AM
Lucy, sorry I can't help with the ID, but I do really like the detail you were able to capture in the dragonfly's eyes and wings. The soft green bokeh works well with the anchoring reed but the oof growth at the top does pull my eye away from the acrobatics.
Registered on July 29, 2016, 66 Posts, 270 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 5, 2017 at 11:21 AM
Lucy, this looks like a tough critter to shoot, with those long antenna.  Yes, it is quite the headstand pose and catching the iridescence in it's eye is a neat extra.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on August 6, 2017 at 6:31 PM
Quite the find and the catch, as well as action, Lucy.  I never saw anything like this, so I am of no help in the ID department.
Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Williams on August 6, 2017 at 9:43 PM
This is an owl fly Lucy. It is in the same order of insects as ant lions and lace wings. Nice stick pose and I really like your framing work.
Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on August 7, 2017 at 2:26 AM
Thanks Ed...never heard of it.  Are they common in SE Tx? I've never seen one before...but maybe I've just walked by them and not noticed.  But, I usually DO notice very tiny critters, that most folks miss...  Have to Google this one

And ant lion Was one of my possibles along with the fish fly, that I had to rule out....
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on August 7, 2017 at 2:35 AM
Just looked them up..too bad I found the ugly one.   The one with yellow on it's wings looks cool.
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments
Comment posted by Balan Vinod on August 7, 2017 at 8:47 AM
Lucy ..I like the eerie feel across the frame, and yes the owlflies have a menacing look. They have reason for being in a particular position, may be you should wiki the behavior. I like the color palette across.

Balan Vinod
Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on August 7, 2017 at 6:07 PM
Yes Balan...I saw, that they try to look like a stick with their butt sad in the air.
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments