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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A long streak of nothing Gasterupteron jaculator female | |
These wasps, when in flight, look like a single human hair with a sense of direction. If you were not expecting them they would probably go un-noticed. Lacking the long ovipositior, and being even smaller, the males are significantly more difficult to see and to photograph.
They appear in my garden at this time of year where they feed on nectar. In other years I have had to photograph them as they move between the crowded inflorescences of Golden Rod. This year there is this umbellifer, which makes it so much easier. Even so, getting the entire length (up to 18mm) of the insect in focus is very tricky.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasteruption_jaculator
This wasp is a parasite of these stem-nesting bees:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylaeus_(bee) *
*Copy and paste to avoid going to the wrong reference. The brackets interfere with the hypertext.
The yellow highlight (background Ragwort) is usefully placed due to pure luck. On this brightest, hottest day of tthe year the background shows no light falloff. (There was still a lot of (moderate) noise in the background, now removed).
Females of this species are useful for composition, as you can place parts in two of the thirds.
E-M1 (on manual), Kiron 105mm f11 ISO 400, single flash TTL, hand-held.
Harold
© Harold Gough 2014
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