Amblyteles armoratus: a Rare Opportunity
e6filmuser
Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
This species is a parasitoid of noctuid moth pupae.
These wasps are quite a common site in my garden in early summer. They fly quite low amongst grass and other low vegetation. They rarely land and when they do they quickly disappear downwards amongst the stems.
I have been trying for, maybe, four years to get a decent set of shots of these. Then it all came at once. I had noticed the interest of this wasp was showing by repeated visits to a particular inflorescence, where it had previously (some days earlier) landed and filled my viewfinder as I was about to frame another wasp. On the special day, the wasp(s) made several visits to the same flowers during the morning.
I had gone out to take some macros in the sun, before the possible rain that was forecast arrived. I got some shots in the sunlight and stayed on as the clouds blocked out the sun and thickened. Several times, the wasp appeared before my lens and I got some images. What made it easier than expected was that the wasp was more thorough that any other insect I have seen foraging on such flowers, seemingly intent on sampling every single floret of the dozens on that head. The number of images was impressive.
Finally, it was lunchtime and the clouds were getting really dark. I decided to wait just a few minutes more. I was rewarded by a further session, in which the wasp walked around slowly on a leaf of a nearby blackcurrant bush. That session alone would have really made it a special day.
Here is a selection from a day which is unlikely to be repeated. The wasps have not been around for several days now, their season apparently ended.
EM-1, Kiron 105, f16, twin TTL RC flash, hand-held.
Harold
These wasps are quite a common site in my garden in early summer. They fly quite low amongst grass and other low vegetation. They rarely land and when they do they quickly disappear downwards amongst the stems.
I have been trying for, maybe, four years to get a decent set of shots of these. Then it all came at once. I had noticed the interest of this wasp was showing by repeated visits to a particular inflorescence, where it had previously (some days earlier) landed and filled my viewfinder as I was about to frame another wasp. On the special day, the wasp(s) made several visits to the same flowers during the morning.
I had gone out to take some macros in the sun, before the possible rain that was forecast arrived. I got some shots in the sunlight and stayed on as the clouds blocked out the sun and thickened. Several times, the wasp appeared before my lens and I got some images. What made it easier than expected was that the wasp was more thorough that any other insect I have seen foraging on such flowers, seemingly intent on sampling every single floret of the dozens on that head. The number of images was impressive.
Finally, it was lunchtime and the clouds were getting really dark. I decided to wait just a few minutes more. I was rewarded by a further session, in which the wasp walked around slowly on a leaf of a nearby blackcurrant bush. That session alone would have really made it a special day.
Here is a selection from a day which is unlikely to be repeated. The wasps have not been around for several days now, their season apparently ended.
EM-1, Kiron 105, f16, twin TTL RC flash, hand-held.
Harold
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Comments
Brian V.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
Thanks, Brian.
No sign of then since then. They/it must have been on an urgent schedule.
Harold