
May I respectfully introduce to you His Eminence the Red-headed Cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis), gloriously clad in his scarlet attire – no green camouflage for this prominent member of the insect congregation. He’s clever: the bright red colour is a ruse to fool potential predators into thinking he’s toxic. He’s a predator himself: he snacks on flying insects not herbage. Unlike his Christian counterpart, he’s common: he can be found throughout Britain. His diocese is the woodland edge, where he has a particular liking for rotting stumps, though he’s also partial to long periods of sunbathing on large leaves.
He’s very handsome – as are your photos!
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Thank you most kindly, Val. 🙂
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Great word play and photos. Love it.
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Thanks a lot, Paul. I’m rather proud of that first photo. My macros are improving … slowly!
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Macros are very difficult because of the depth of field. I w often focus on the wrong bit and loose the detail where it’s beeded
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That’s the problem I’ve been having. It takes a lot of getting used to … and a lot of images to hopefully nail one sharp one. 🙂
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I’ve been experimenting with my iPhone for insect photos recently and been impressed by the results – here’s a couple of examples: https://paulsbackgardensafari.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/fruit-fly-tephritis-neesii/
And
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Nice! I don’t have a smartphone but some friends find them difficult to focus. I know you can also get lens attachments for some of them, which improve macro images.
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