Why Do Bright Green Aphids?

e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
edited June 7, 2015 in Holy Macro
live under logs and bark? To turn that around, if it lives there, why is it bright green? Aphids feed on living plants so, again, why was it there? I have seen bright, blue-green root aphids.

I found this species under a rotting log in my front garden and under detached bark, on the ground in the back garden. Both of these substrates are mid to dark brown, which would make these impossible not to see in daylight, which was the case. OK, they were in very deep shade to darkness but other arthropods living there are much closer to the colours of the wood.

Note the wing buds.

These were shot with my Schneider HM 40 reversed on extension, twin TTL flash. All images have been cropped from a FOV of 10mm.

The pale one looks to be of the same general morphology and may be of the same species.

Harold

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Comments

  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    On further consideration, the first one found, a few days earlier, has enough differences to perhaps be a different, but related, species. The images were a bit soft for a main post but here they are.

    A lot of clone stamping had been needed, due to an over-tight adapter depositing particles of the mount coating on the sensor.

    Harold

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  • Paul IddonPaul Iddon Registered Users Posts: 5,129 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    Lovely series, but #3 is the one that catches my the most.

    Paul.


    Link to my personal website: http://www.pauliddon.co.uk





  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    Paul Iddon wrote: »
    Lovely series, but #3 is the one that catches my the most.

    Paul.

    Thank, Paul.

    That would probably be my pick too.

    Harold
  • StumblebumStumblebum Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    Nice catch Harold! I am sure these are not "as intended" because focus appears to be too soft.
  • chaddchadd Registered Users Posts: 80 Big grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    Great set, Harold!
    It looks like it's made of green jelly.
    https://pimion.com/
  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    Stumblebum wrote: »
    Nice catch Harold! I am sure these are not "as intended" because focus appears to be too soft.

    The second set, certainly. I could use more aggressive sharpening but I chose a compromise. There will also be some diffraction there.

    Harold
  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 2, 2015
    chadd wrote: »
    Great set, Harold!
    It looks like it's made of green jelly.

    Yes. I quite like the effect.

    Harold
  • Tom FosterTom Foster Registered Users Posts: 291 Major grins
    edited June 3, 2015
    Great shots! Considering they look fairly translucent do you reckon you can change their colours by feeding them dyed plant material?
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  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 3, 2015
    Tom Foster wrote: »
    Great shots! Considering they look fairly translucent do you reckon you can change their colours by feeding them dyed plant material?

    Thanks. I doubt it, not least because their "sucking" is passive, using the sap pressure, driven by the root pressure, of the host.

    Harold
  • Tom FosterTom Foster Registered Users Posts: 291 Major grins
    edited June 7, 2015
    The reason I was asking is after seeing pictures of ants like this one! I know ants and aphid's are different but anyway... article-2022765-0D4E949A00000578-249_634x457.jpg
    I guess you'd need to dye the whole plant though if the aphid's sucking is driven by the plant's sap pressure!
    My Scottish landscape photography site.
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  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited June 7, 2015
    Tom,

    Thanks for that Great fun!

    Harold
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