Mystery red/black bug
craig_d
Registered Users Posts: 911 Major grins
I found this little critter walking around on the hood of our BBQ in the back yard. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. Some web searching turned up a species from the Middle East that has recently appeared in Southern California (Scantius aegyptius), but this doesn't look exactly like that to me (black eyes instead of red, small red dot on forehead, somewhat different pattern of red and black behind the head and on the wings), though very similar. And I'm some 400+ miles from the region that S. aegyptius is known to inhabit, though of course that would be a pretty small move compared to getting to California from the Middle East (which no doubt had inadvertent human assistance). The body, from nose to hind end, is almost exactly 1 cm long.
If anyone knows what this is and what its habits are, I'd appreciate the info.
It was sort of surly about being photographed; whenever I walked around it to see it from the front, it would start to turn away. But it didn't fly off; in fact, I just glanced out the window, and it, or another like it, is still there on the BBQ the next morning.
C&C appreciated, as always.
1. 1/125 sec at f/8, ISO 800 (manual focus stack of two images shot hand-held)
2. 1/50 sec. at f/8, ISO 800
3. 1/50 sec. at f/11, ISO 800 (plus slight camera shake, unfortunately)
4. 1/125 sec. at f/10, ISO 1600 (manual focus stack of three images shot hand-held)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Tokina ATX M100 AF Pro D 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
Other details as noted above
If anyone knows what this is and what its habits are, I'd appreciate the info.
It was sort of surly about being photographed; whenever I walked around it to see it from the front, it would start to turn away. But it didn't fly off; in fact, I just glanced out the window, and it, or another like it, is still there on the BBQ the next morning.
C&C appreciated, as always.
1. 1/125 sec at f/8, ISO 800 (manual focus stack of two images shot hand-held)
2. 1/50 sec. at f/8, ISO 800
3. 1/50 sec. at f/11, ISO 800 (plus slight camera shake, unfortunately)
4. 1/125 sec. at f/10, ISO 1600 (manual focus stack of three images shot hand-held)
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Tokina ATX M100 AF Pro D 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
Other details as noted above
0
Comments
Thanks to your suggestion, I found a page that showed a box elder beetle next to a milkweed bug. The milkweed bug looks more like what I have here. Milkweed bugs, it says, are commonly found east of the Rockies, so it's interesting to see one near San Francisco.
Got bored with digital and went back to film.
Got bored with digital and went back to film.
Brian V.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
agree with Brian, last frame best
phil
moderator - Holy Macro
Goldenorfe’s Flickr Gallery
Goldenorfe photography on Smugmug
Phils Photographic Adventures Blog