I’m considering purchasing the Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G as a gift for myself this Christmas! Seems like a good starting place for a macro lens that’s not crazy expensive 
1 Like
Nikon makes some great gear. I’m looking forward to seeing it in action. I shoot Canon. Its just what I started with and have kept investing in. This lens is the 180mm macro lens. I love this lens. its kind of slow in focus, The glass is amazing. it was expensive. Canon L glass is stupid expensive. I bought a sigma 200-600 lense 5 or six years ago. I tested it against Canons 200-400 L glass and its just as sharp for 1/4 of the price. I wish I would have tried some of their macro lenses before I invested.
1 Like
I started with Nikon and also have just kept with it rather than try Canon, despite all the amazing things I see and hear about their machines!
Yeah that’s quite the discount! Maybe something worth looking into for my journey as well!
1 Like
“Agapostemon subtilior, known as the fine striped sweat bee are known for a bright green head and thorax, this solitary ground-nester belongs to the Halictidae family and is a significant pollinator. They are active from late spring to fall, with females appearing all-green and males displaying a black-and-yellow striped abdomen. They are solitary ground-nesters, creating tunnels in soil, and are polylectic, meaning they forage from a wide variety of flowers.”
Link below is to the iNaturalist page about the fine striped sweat bee!
I’m definitely no entomologist! The information provided is based on guess work like location, color/pattern, and size! Any corrections are wanted and welcome!
2 Likes
“Polygonia satyrus, the satyr comma, is a North American butterfly of the nymphalid family and is found in western North America and southern Canada, often near streams and forest openings, and its caterpillars feed on stinging nettles. Adults feed on tree sap, rotting fruit, and moist soil, not just nectar. Known for the distinct white comma-shaped mark on the underside of its hindwing.”
Link below is to the iNaturalist page about the satyr comma!
I’m definitely no entomologist! The information provided is based on guess work like location, color/pattern, and size! Any corrections are wanted and welcome!
3 Likes
Absolutely love this thread!
(I’ve left the mosquito out because no one can tell me that’s worth celebrating 
)
Here’s some taken by me from my camera roll:
Leaf cutter ants
Conical grasshopper
False Tiger Moth
Slender Skimmer Dragonfly
Devil Head Moth
And perhaps most apt for us all: a baby praying mantis in a wine glass
4 Likes
I love bugs, but when they group together like ants a shiver goes up my spine
2 Likes
Awesome stuff! I absolutely love mantises, I’m looking forward to getting a good shot of one this summer!
1 Like
So we have problems with paper wasps on our street. They make huge nests and can swarm and their stings are really really painful (I got one stuck inside my hoodie one day and the stings made my neck swell up like tennis balls).
I spotted what I thought was the start of a nest next to our door. I’d seen one wasp tending to it. So I preempted the problem and decided to wait until the wasp left and destroy the nest - they will then just move on somewhere else and often not return.
So, that’s what I did. Except when I tapped the nest to make it crumble these were inside 
I then realised, it wasn’t a paper wasp. This was a potter-wasp nest for a single female wasp. It contained stored paralysed caterpillars for the wasp’s larvae to eat. Potter wasps hunt caterpillars and bring them to the nest. They bring balls of mud to create the nest structure.
I felt so guilty! But isn’t nature incredible?! Next time I see one I will leave it alone.
Here’s a potter wasp (not my photo)
4 Likes
Yikes! That is an amazing thing to find though, despite the misunderstanding. At least now you know, don’t let it weigh you down!
1 Like
“Thelacantha brevispina, the Asian spinybacked orbweaver has been found in Australia, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, as well as parts of Japan. It has also been introduced into Hawaii. Females have six abdominal spines ending in distinct sharp points. Most have two large white spots on the upper surface of their abdomens, which are otherwise mottled with black, brown, and white patterns.”
This third image is special. I didn’t understand what was happening at first, but after a closer look with my zoom mechanism I was able to see that the spider was in the process of molting!
Link below is to the iNaturalist page about the Asian Spinybacked Orbweaver!
I’m definitely no entomologist! The information provided is based on guess work like location, color/pattern, and size! Any corrections are wanted and welcome!
4 Likes
“Pepsis thisbe, the Thisbe’s tarantula-hawk wasp is a species of spider wasp in the family Pompilidae. Males do not have stingers and females have ones about 7mm (¼ inch) in length. Females are 32-44 mm long with a dark blue body and orange wings. Adults are nectarivores (feeding on flower material), but females hunt tarantulas as food for larvae. Considered the second most painful of any insect sting; scoring 4.0 on the Schmidt sting pain indexcompared to the bullet ant’s 4.0+.” Also, the closely related Pepsis grossa is New Mexicos state insect!
Link below is to the iNaturalist page about the Thisbe’s Tarantula-hawk Wasp!
I’m definitely no entomologist! The information provided is based on guess work like location, color/pattern, and size! Any corrections are wanted and welcome!
3 Likes
“Sceliphron caementarium, also known as the yellow-legged mud-dauber wasp (within the US) or black-waisted mud-dauber wasp(outside of the US) is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines, and in turkey oaks. They are solitary parasitoid wasps that build nests out of mud. After building a cell of the nest, the female wasp captures several spiders. The captured prey are stung and paralyzed before being placed in the nest (usually 6–15 per cell), and then a single egg is deposited on the prey within each cell. Once the pupa has developed into an adult wasp, the adult emerges from its pupal case and breaks out of its mud chamber.”
Link below is to the iNaturalist page about the Yellow-legged Mud-dauber Wasp!
I’m definitely no entomologist! The information provided is based on guess work like location, color/pattern, and size! Any corrections are wanted and welcome!
1 Like
Mud daubers like the rafters of my wood shed. Here is an old nest showing where the wasplets came out.
2 Likes
Very cool! I haven’t been able to find any nests around my place, although they do blend in quite well with the adobe style housing in my area!
I know a lot of bugs look pretty alien-esque, but almost everything underwater has a certain “not from this planet” look to me Hope all is well on the ship!
2 Likes