Milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis)

A mid-week bit of SHINY, to brighten up what has been a mostly rainy week…

Labidomera clivicollis, a leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) that specializes on milkweed, Asclepias sp. (hence the red and black warning coloration). It’s the only member of this genus is North America, and it is gorgeous.

Calligraphy

This is one of my favourite late-summer/autumn beetles…

Calligrapha vicina.  Beautiful ink-black inscriptions on an ivory shell; a living work of art.

I’m always happy to come across one of these gems, usually amidst a backdrop of scarlet dogwood stems.

First attempt with new macro lens

Let it be stated for the record that I have a point-and-shoot camera, a Canon PowerShotSX10.  This is a fully serviceable little machine, with lots of bells and whistles and settings etc.  But I can’t interchange lenses, nor can I focus manually.  These present challenges when I want to photograph the very tiny or the very far away. 

My beloved DID manage to find me an add-on macro lens, however, that was compatible with my Canon: a raynox super macro conversion lens (DCR-250).  It comes with an adaptor that allows me to clip the macro over my existing lens with a simple spring mechanism.  

I was fiddling with the lens today for the first time.  I was using only the ambient light (a grey winter day, indoors) – I really need to get a flash – and was aided by an Optex T120 Minipro Tripod; it’s about 8 inches high. 

My subjects: some of my latest additions to my collection; a bunch of critters I found, forgotten, in the back of the freezer.  Some were 3 years old.  They sat in a relaxing jar for several days and I’m quite pleased at how flexible I was able to get them.  They’re not as perfectly posed as I usually like, but considering how long they’d been on ice, I’ll take what I can get.  So here you go; please do tell me if I’ve identified anything incorrectly!

Saperda imitans (Cerambycidae) (Thanks to Ted MacRae for the ID correction, and letting me know I’ve got a goodie here! I had falsely identified it as Saperda tridentata.)

Megacylene robinae (Cerambycidae)

Dorcus parallelus (Lucanidae)

Arrhenodes minutus (Brentidae)

Calligrapha californica (Chrysomelidae)

Cicindela tranquebaria (Cicindelidae)