Insects + Spiders of Colombia + Ecuador

A few creatures from a recent trip to NW South America. I was using an E-M1 with the 60mm macro and the 12-40 and 4-150 pro lenses. I was happy with the size and weight of the kit, however I did not get the same impression of bomb-proof quality I get with my Nikon gear. All three lenses occasionally suffered from condensation on internal elements, and the E-M1's rear dial started acting up and it failed to recognize the 40-150 a couple of times (the strap was connected to the left strap lug and to the tripod foot rotated to the right side of the lens, I think this was torquing the lens just enough for the contacts to not all connect.) All of these issues happened over the course of two months of heavy use, and for the majority of the time everything worked flawlessly.

Butterfly courting behaviour

I wasn't planning for this bee to fly into the frame, but I'm glad it did.

One of the many colourful species of bees in the Amazon

An interestingly patterned spider; looks like a goat's head to me.

I stumbled across this large weevil surveying its domain from the top of a flowering bromelaid.

A very well-armoured beetle.

An orchid-mimic spider; despite some major lens condensations issues I think this one cleaned up pretty good.

An assassin bug giving a mosquito a taste of its own medicine.

Thanks for looking,

Joshua

first prize goes to the weevil pic, I love weevils

First prize goes to the weevil pic, I love weevils

Trevor Carpenter wrote:

First prize goes to the weevil pic, I love weevils

Great set Joshua. I like them all, The butterfly pic is particularly well handled too. Extreme photographic conditions.

Intriguing and worrying about the condensation. Was it a feature of extreme humidity (I have had this happen occasionally here in PNG which is also in the wet tropics) or change of temperature between air conditioned and ambient hot?

And the belt otrquing the lenses? What is a belt doing attached to the camera lug and tripod foot and pulling against the lens? I am not getting that.

Vheissu wrote:

A few creatures from a recent trip to NW South America. I was using an E-M1 with the 60mm macro and the 12-40 and 4-150 pro lenses. I was happy with the size and weight of the kit, however I did not get the same impression of bomb-proof quality I get with my Nikon gear. All three lenses occasionally suffered from condensation on internal elements, and the E-M1's rear dial started acting up and it failed to recognize the 40-150 a couple of times (the strap was connected to the left strap lug and to the tripod foot rotated to the right side of the lens, I think this was torquing the lens just enough for the contacts to not all connect.) All of these issues happened over the course of two months of heavy use, and for the majority of the time everything worked flawlessly.

Butterfly courting behaviour

I wasn't planning for this bee to fly into the frame, but I'm glad it did.

One of the many colourful species of bees in the Amazon

An interestingly patterned spider; looks like a goat's head to me.

I stumbled across this large weevil surveying its domain from the top of a flowering bromelaid.

A very well-armoured beetle.

An orchid-mimic spider; despite some major lens condensations issues I think this one cleaned up pretty good.

An assassin bug giving a mosquito a taste of its own medicine.

Thanks for looking,

Joshua

Beautifully gruesome pictures Joshua, it was all going so well butterflies and bees , then the creepier side of the creepy crawly gang appeared :-). Lovely shots, really well taken of critters that we do not have in my cooler part of the world. I especially like the image of the orchid-mimic spider

Vheissu wrote:

samtheman2014 wrote:

Beautifully gruesome pictures Joshua, it was all going so well butterflies and bees , then the creepier side of the creepy crawly gang appeared :-). Lovely shots, really well taken of critters that we do not have in my cooler part of the world. I especially like the image of the orchid-mimic spider

Thanks Sam,

I apologize, I didn't intend to instill a false sense of security by putting the friendlier looking ones first, but I'm glad you made it to the end. That orchid-mimic is really special, just incredibly well adapted for such a specific niche, i couldn't believe it was even real when I found it. I'm really enjoying the 60mm macro for finding the unseen beauty (and sometimes horror) of the insect world. Back home the bugs are much smaller and more skittish than the giant, frame-filling, lazy things in the tropics; this summer is going to be a learning experience for me.

The mimic spider is truly exotic, I just got the 60mm macro myself, though I will probably be pointing it a flowers etc

Vheissu wrote:

samtheman2014 wrote:

Vheissu wrote:

samtheman2014 wrote:

Beautifully gruesome pictures Joshua, it was all going so well butterflies and bees , then the creepier side of the creepy crawly gang appeared :-). Lovely shots, really well taken of critters that we do not have in my cooler part of the world. I especially like the image of the orchid-mimic spider

Thanks Sam,

I apologize, I didn't intend to instill a false sense of security by putting the friendlier looking ones first, but I'm glad you made it to the end. That orchid-mimic is really special, just incredibly well adapted for such a specific niche, i couldn't believe it was even real when I found it. I'm really enjoying the 60mm macro for finding the unseen beauty (and sometimes horror) of the insect world. Back home the bugs are much smaller and more skittish than the giant, frame-filling, lazy things in the tropics; this summer is going to be a learning experience for me.

The mimic spider is truly exotic, I just got the 60mm macro myself, though I will probably be pointing it a flowers etc

That's what I thought I would be using mine for too. Sooner or later something strange will buzz or crawl in front of it though. It really is an eye opening lens, enjoy.

Spring is just starting to sprout here Spring is great if you are quick you can get all the flora images you want before too many insects warm up