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Let me pull this damn weed out...

Posted by
Ti (Alpharetta, United States) on 11 April 2009 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

Funny title Ti and beautiful macro, sharp on the head and a great DOF! I think it's what we call in the Netherlands a red soldier (Rhagonycha fulva) so that weed wouldn't have to be a problem from him! ;)

11 Apr 2009 5:27am

@Monique: Thanks Monique. I changed the photo to add a thumbnail of its back shot to help you further ID this guy. The red soldier I searched on line shows red back, this one is black...

k@ from Paris, France

Your title is so good (love your humor) and the focus & dof so fab... A photo by a pro ! (you & him :)

11 Apr 2009 6:00am

@k@: I'm no where near being a pro, K@rine, just a guy with a camera who loves living things... :-)

Elora from Genoa, Italy

Fantastic! I love the detail and the strange position you found him in!

11 Apr 2009 3:16pm

@Elora: My dog found me interesting as well, lying face down on the ground, near his poo....

Accio from Singapore, Singapore

Interesting selective focus. And your caption makes this entire scene very comical indeed!

11 Apr 2009 4:45pm

@Accio: I've always strived for that... :-)

Louis from Pretoria, South Africa

You have some great macro's on this site. Crawling in the weeds hey? Nice pictures.

11 Apr 2009 7:08pm

@Louis: Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

I think he's from the other army ... the black soldier beetle (cantharis obscura or the cantharis rustica) , don't know for sure but he really looks like one of these (I think the rustica by the spots on his upper shield)

12 Apr 2009 3:29am

@Monique: Thanks for the reference, Monique! I googled it and found it to be Two-lined Leather-wing (Atalantycha bilineata). Are you an Antomologist? That's why you moved to Thailand for their tropical bugs my pretty bug lady? :-) Thanks again!

zOOm from Paris, France

Great macro really ! And nice and creative presentation. I like it !

12 Apr 2009 11:28am

@zOOm: Then "drive" slowly next time, Flo, you may zoom into one... :-)

Barbara from Florida, United States

Superb macro. Excellent selective focus and DOF. Images like yours are what keep me motivated towards macro. There is a small world out there to be discovered. As I see they are hard at work pulling out weeds. Love the humor and insert of another view.

12 Apr 2009 2:03pm

@Barbara: Then be careful while lying down on grass, Barbara, not just because of dog poo all over the place, but fire ants as well. Oh yes, I remember those while living down there for 6 years... we used to have them here in my yard here in GA as well, but haven't seen them for years.... :-)

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

While on google I saw I'm not the only one who made the mistake calling it a black soldier! ;) Those darn bugs look so similar! No I'm not an entomologist, just a photo/bugfreak who wants to know what I captured. I can tell you the determination takes a lot more time than taking the photo :)) sometimes I browse the internet without any luck! ;)

12 Apr 2009 3:33pm

@Monique: Yes, I'm pretty persistent (a more polite way to say I'M stubborn) alright, like you I'd like to know what it is that I captured. For all the birds I don't know I'll send a photo to All Abotu Birds and they will ID for me. Now I know where can I send my bug photos for ID in the future... :-)

Thanks for all your help, Monique.

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Cute little dude, no matter what he is ;)

13 Apr 2009 4:39am

@Tracy: Every living creature has a purpose for being in this world, I wonder what is his? :-)

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

This site http://www.whatsthatbug.com/ is really helpful for bug ID and you can even send your pictures and hope you get a reply, because sometimes they are really busy, but they helped me a lot!

14 Apr 2009 2:41am

@Monique: I prefer my bug lady first. :-)