Journal

Beautiful Lacewings

on
8 April 2012
Green Lacewings (Chrysopidae) fly in a slow, somewhat hovering manner. At flight, most would dismiss them as any other random fly. Looking up close at them would prove otherwise.

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_6073#1 Beautiful green, and hardly noticeable when camouflaged on the leaf. We found it only after it started walking around.

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_6031#2 Side view shows a rather flat body

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_6048#3 View of the face reveals a pair of radiant bug eyes

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_6054#4 Can’t get enough of the compound eyes… lol

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_5985#5 Extremely thin DOF with the entire body out of focus

Green Lacewing (Chrysopidae) - DSC_6037#6 Finally, a close up of the eyes

Lacewing (Neuroptera) - DSC_1123#7 Another Lacewing I captured in an earlier shoot. Yellow body!

Lacewing larva (Chrysopidae) - DSC_1211#8 This trash collector is the nymph of the lacewing. It sticks debris on it’s back for protection and camouflage. This little fella packs a mean sting… the pic shows it sinking it’s fangs into my thumb. More on this incident here: Bitten by a Walking Trash Collector

Lacewing larva (Chrysopidae) - DSC_1229#9 Side view of the bizarre creature

Lacewing eggs (Chrysopidae) - DSC_1126#10 And finally, this is how the eggs would look like — each perched onto the end of tiny stalks

The Labrador Park boardwalk (just beside Labrador MRT entrance) did not have much subjects to offer as it was heavily manicured to be an urban park. Not many finds except for another praying mantis. My flash setup fell apart so I couldn’t use the tripod nor flashes. Thanks to Alfred for lending the use of his flashes! Advantages of using Nikon Creative Lighting System! 😛

Praying Mantis (Mantodea) - DSC_5777b#11 Tiny praying mantis cleaning it’s antennae. Looked like an ant if one did not look close enough.

Praying Mantis (Mantodea) - DSC_5801b#12 The body was black and reflective, making it one of the most difficult subjects to capture and expose well

Praying Mantis (Mantodea) - DSC_5761b#13 Final face shot!

The complete album can be viewed here.
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NICKY BAY
Singapore

Hi my name is Nicky Bay. I am a macro photographer, instructor and book author, travelling the world to document the vast micro biodiversity that nature has to offer. Follow my updates and discover with me the incredible beauty and science behind our planet's micro creatures!

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