I suspect that most people would not appreciate the beauty in flies, especially a blow fly, more so an introduced species like the European Bluebottle. Most people would understandably fear the fly-borne filth and disease or detest the low-pitched humming noise. However, I love macrophotography of these specific tiny creatures because their colours are wild, like some miniature drone with a metallic blue abdomen and a gold mask through which two rust-red eyes are protruding. They are almost garish in their shiny colours but they symbolise why I enjoy macrophotography, because sometimes having a different perspective can show beauty in anything. Finding beauty is especially important at present, with Canberra still in COVID lockdown, so I am happy to find the tiniest bit of beauty to help keep me bright. Because of the necessary restrictions I am not getting out on the weekends so I am once again taking trips into my garden jungle to see what wonderful creatures I can find. Recently, the warmer weather and longer days started to bring new floral life to the garden so insects are out, as well as the spiders that feed on them. This is the start of a great time to photograph nature. While I can’t travel far, I can search our yard for more subjects to practice macrophotography on. Unfortunately, while the weather over the last two weekends was not great I just felt I needed to have the camera in my hand again so I hope that you enjoy the photographs below.
I saw a Fickert’s Two-tailed Spider (Tamopsis fickerti) over both weekends in areas not too far apart so I was not sure if it was the same individual. In the case of the photograph below it was a female given its body length of almost 1 centimetre. Males are just under half that length. Both times I saw this arachnid the spider was lying flat against a surface, her head pointing downwards. The elongated spinnerets at the back make the source of the species’ name very obvious. This is a very common spider that is normally well camouflaged when stationary on a tree. Finding a spider on such a congruous background always makes me wonder why such well camouflaged creatures pick the most clashing surface to rest on. They probably can’t detect colour so a rough surface like bricks must seem very similar to the bark of a tree.
Fickert’s Two Tailed Spider on a brick wall
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
The same afternoon, under a grey, threatening sky I passed through our back door, determined to find some subjects. Looking at a a tree growing just beside the door I noticed a small Bristle Fly on a leaf. The fly may have been cold because it was not moving, even as I took several photos and carefully pushed a leaf out of the way it barely changed its spot. That was my first photograph that day and it was nice to be back outside with a camera.
Bristle Fly on a leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/7.1 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
A bit further on a small Crane Fly was resting mainly on a pebble in a pot plant but had one of its legs resting on a nearby leaf. The raindrops were starting to fall as I took the photograph making me worried that the insect would fly away. While this fly may look a bit like a mosquito it cannot bight or sting so is not a problem to have around the house.
Crane Fly resting on a pebble but stretched out to the neighbouring leaf
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
As I said at the start of this post, I actually really enjoy photographing the introduced European Bluebottle (Calliphora vicina) because of its amazing colours. The photograph below is a slightly wider shot of the opening image, showing the lid of the green recycling bin to the left. My fist shot of this fly was a very boring, slightly oblique shot. Then I realised that this fly was not disturbed by me so I approached closer. I kept my face behind the camera so as to minimise movement while I was close to the insect. While the fly shuffled on in its spot it basically stayed in one location, even when I rested the edge of the lens down on the same plastic lip of the bin the fly was resting on. I love the colours of this fly and I also liked the shallow refection from the plastic of the bin. Interestingly, this species is one of those insects that is used to estimate approximate times of death for corpses. Because these flies lay eggs on dead animals, potentially 300 eggs, and they always following predictable phases scientist you use the detection of the larvae of this fly in a deceased body to help estimate the approximate time of death. Steel blue colouration and helping to solve crime too, why wouldn’t you love this little one?
European Bluebottle on our green waste recycle bin
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
My wife has some succulents growing on our back wooden deck. In looking at one of them I could see a small, hairy caterpillar crawling over one of the spiky fronds. I don’t think it was eating the plant but I did like how the spiky hair of the caterpillar seemed to match the spikes along the plant. I am not sure of the caterpillar species but as it did not appear to be hurting my wife’s cherished succulents I left it where was to go about its business.
Hairy caterpillar on a succulent
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
My last image of this post is of the introduced Grape Hyacinth, a small plant that had somehow found its way into our front garden. We had never bought this plant so it was a surprise to me when it started growing in our front yard. In Australia, the government considers that these plants have the ability to become weeds and the appearance of this plants in our garden showed how hard it can be to control plants with tiny seeds. These flowers are native around the Mediterranean area but take well to Australia. They are not large and have appeared in a couple of areas of our yard as well as other yards in the street. While this is a beautiful plant there is always a risk that it will get into the bush and out compete our native plants. While feral animals get a lot of attention in Australia, exotic plants are a major risk as well. There are an estimated 27 500 exotic plant species, more than the roughly 24 000 native ones.
Grape Hyacinth
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/13 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Lockdown looks like it will be going for a few more weeks yet so it is nice to know that the garden is coming alive with Spring on the way and that means more wonderful macrophotography subjects. The beauty of the tiny world around us is hidden until we take the time to look more closely and I always enjoy what I see.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.