Nature Friday – It’s the Little Things

Hi everyone! It’s Cindy here. Recently Charlie picked up a new macro lens and has been having fun learning how to use it. The main use for a macro lens is to take extreme close ups of your subject. As a reminder you can click on all the pictures to see a much bigger version.

Bumblebee on Red Dahlia

There is a very nice arboretum near us that has some dahlias so Charlie has taken a few trips there when the weather was nice and calm. In order to get sharp pictures there can’t be much movement in the subject. This bumblebee was still waking up from spending the night on this dahlia.

Can you find the hidden bugs on this dahlia?
(clicking on the image to make it bigger will help)

Sometimes the bugs are so small you don’t even see them when you are taking the picture as is the case with the picture above. Here is a hint there is a super tiny bug just left of center and a slightly larger one right of center hiding below the petals.

Hoverfly on Potentilla flower

Right in our own back yard one of Charlie’s favorite subjects has been bugs on the potentilla flowers. Just for reference these flowers are only about 3/4 of an inch (2 cm) in diameter.

Now I think I have to warn anyone that doesn’t like spiders much that the next few pictures might just creep you out a bit.

Crab spider on Potentilla flower

The crab spiders like to hide in plants and flowers and ambush their prey. 

Crab spider on Potentilla plant

These small spiders blend into their surroundings very well. One thing that is amazing about these pictures is that to the naked eye you cannot see the tiny hairs all over this little guy.

Crab spider with prey

The crab spider above has captured another spider that is even smaller than it. This last picture was created using a technique called “focus stacking“. There were multiple images taken very quickly at different focal points (the camera does this automatically when you set it up). Then the images are combined to create one image where more of the subject is in focus than would be with just one image.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the creepy little things Charlie has found with his macro lens. It’s amazing to look at these creatures almost as if you had them under a microscope.

Join the Nature Friday Blog Hop

We are joining the LLB Gang for their Nature Friday Blog Hop. You should pop over to their blog to see all the other posts.