bugs, bugs, bugs - 10 macros .:. EN/RU

Today I sorted through my summer of 2021 archives. I think I almost did not share most part of my "macro" genre captures. So, I will continue to share. All photos were taken with Canon 5D + Sigma 150mm.

A bug on a dried strawberry leaf (thats why it was red). Mimicry!

View of his soft abdomen from below. 200% mimicry! As long as the bug is not moving, it is impossible to notice it.

The side face of its shell is a non-stop ornament. Very beautiful shell!

And this creature is not fun at all, I am glad that I rarely or never meet it at my summer place. Goat moth is the name, in Latin: Cossus cossus. Its larvae, caterpillar also known as a willow worm, is a serious pest of gardens and forests. Thick, fleshy caterpillars can reach up to 10 cm in length! They are distinguished by a characteristic brown-raspberry color and a strong smell of wood vinegar.

Caterpillars feed in the trunks and branches of a wide trees variety, but prefer willow or poplar wood, for which they got their second name "willow worm".

...for its characteristic posture and movement method. This caterpillar is called in Russian "surveyor". This is the Feathered thorn moth larva (Latin name: Colotois pennaria). The caterpillar feeds on birch, oak, poplar, willow, linden, alder, plum, pear, apple, and elm.

Wonderful mimicry master! I don't understand how I discovered it. In fact, I was engaged in the work of clearing the site of thickets of willows - I stood in a ditch and cut off willow shoots with pruning shears. Apparently, I disturbed the peacefully feeding caterpillar, because it began to move - then I noticed it. I placed it on a stump, put the pruner aside and ran home for the camera ... and when I returned, with great difficulty I was able to find the caterpillar again. No, she did not run away from that stump, she just stretched out, froze and pretended to be a bitch. And in this state, it is almost impossible to notice her against the background of other branches! Can you find it yourself?

When I came back, I equipped myself with a camera but more so, I also grabbed my daughter - to brag about my find, and show her this clear and interesting example of mimicry. The baby was delighted, and even granted the caterpillar a special name: "Maria Ivanovna". (In the frame above, you can see the stump where I left the caterpillar while running after the camera). All in all, it was a very successful find!