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Flower Wasp?


Flower Wasp?
Photo Information
Copyright: Ram Thakur (ramthakur) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2968 W: 108 N: 7679] (24860)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-07-07
Categories: Insects
Camera: Nikon D200, Sigma 70-300 4-5.6 APO DG MACRO, 58mm UV
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/160 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-07-08 22:50
Viewed: 413
Points: 40
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Friends, I am still under the weather; my internet connection at home is dead for the past three days; I'm sneaking this from my workplace :)!
Forgive me if I have not been able to write return critiques in the last couple of days.
My grand-daughter's third birthday was on 7th July, so I had to go and attend the evening party. Despite slight fever, I couldn't resist going out into the garden a little before the sunset because the place is now flush with insects. I came across quite a few of them including this winged insect.
A little research has led me to assume that it is a Flower Wasp though I could be way off the mark. Any expert coming to my rescue to ID this insect or confirm my assumption?
This insect is about an inch long and was browsing around on a white flower vigorously. Its movement and body contortions were so quick it was difficult to capture all its limbs together and in focus. This is the best I could manage.

Here is a note on Flower Wasps lifted from Wikipedia:

Tiphiidae (also known as the Tiphiid wasps or, rarely, Flower Wasps) is a family of large solitary wasps whose larvae are almost universally ectoparasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea.

Most species are small, but they can be up to 30 mm long. The females of some subfamilies (all Brachycistidinae, Diamminae, Methochinae, and Thynninae) are wingless, and hunt ground-dwelling (fossorial) beetle larvae, or (in one species) mole crickets. The prey is paralysed with the female's sting and an egg lain upon it so the wasp larva has a ready supply of food. In species where both sexes are winged, males are similar in size to the females, but much more slender. The males of species with wingless females, however, are often much larger than the females and have wings, the adults mating in the air, with the female carried by the male's genitalia. Adults feed on nectar and are minor pollinators. As some of the ground-dwelling scarab species attacked by tiphiids are pests, some of these wasps are considered beneficial as biological control agents.

The picture was taken hand-held from a distance of one meter at ISO 400 and with built-in flash because the light was failing fast.

I must thank Greg from Poland here for illustrating the potential of Sigma 70-300mm in macro mode through some of his fantastic pictures posted recently. Until I saw those pictures, I used to believe this lens was meant for taking pictures of distant subjects like birds only!

TFL
Miss_Piggy, maurydv, eng55, Juyona, JORAPAVI, Alex99, anel, haraprasan, mayuresh, goldyrs, XOTAELE, eqshannon, jaycee, sranjan has marked this note useful
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To XOTAELE: Hiramthakur 1 07-11 05:41
To gannu: Big lensramthakur 5 07-11 05:30
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Critiques [Translate]

Hallo Ram
Now I don't feel as guilty because I am also at work trying to catch up on some overdue critiques.
This is a super close-up of this wasp. The details are clear and the colour is captured perfectly. The details of the big eye and the beautiful wings are just greatly displayed. Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards.
Anna

Splendida cattura, ottima definizione dei dettagli, fantastici i colori con bellissimi riflessi. Grazie e complimenti. Ciao Maurizio

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 353 W: 3 N: 376] (1127)
  • [2008-07-09 1:40]

Hi Ram,
Beautiful macro shot of this moth.Sharpness,details and composition are perfect.
Thanks for posting.

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2036 W: 6 N: 2017] (13253)
  • [2008-07-09 2:20]

Hola Ram,
interesante macro,
con buen pov. y detalles.
efectivo foco y color,
saludos amigo.

Hola Ram,
Excelente macro con gran nitidez y muy buenos detalles, preciosa luz y color, siento no poder ayudarte en la ID. Un cordial saludo
José Ramón

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3029 W: 148 N: 4520] (14595)
  • [2008-07-09 3:51]

Hi Ram.
What a tremendous close-up shot. Amazing magnification, superb sharpness, great colours and very effective lighting and precise exposure. Bravo. Perfect job.
Alexei.
P.S. I am very pleased with your warm comments, which play huge role in my life. Thanks a lot and all the best.

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 916 W: 4 N: 2277] (10628)
  • [2008-07-09 4:03]
  • [+]

Hello Ram Sir,
Hope you are feeling better now. The shot is perfect. How did you manage to get in close using the 70-300 lens. perfect shot.
ganesh

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1166 W: 0 N: 1950] (8279)
  • [2008-07-09 4:26]

hello Ram,
I imagine you around the garden looking for something for your lens, even if you are still ill..the wasp you caught was worth the effort and you have taken it from a very special point of view. I like this perspective of the world upside down and the big black eye of the insect in the corner of the picture. Nice blueish wings too. Wasps are fascinating insects indeed.
Hope you will recover entirely
Meilleures pensées
Anne

Hi Ram

Hope you are feeling better soon and get your internet connection fixed, nothing more annoying these days is there :) What did we do before the internet and computers???
Cool shot of this wasp.
Good sharpness
Good composition
Great DOF and POV
Great background

Hope the party went well.

Chris

Hi Mr. Ram,
A nice capture of this beautiful wasp. Very well composed with sharp details. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Sincerely
HP

Hello Ram sir,
nice macro shot with superb sharpness and great lighting,very good exposure here,
well done,
tfs

Beautiful shot, sorry, the comp's got a virus, and the techie's not oome in still!
Goldy

hello sir,
i hope that you are doing fine now, this is a fine macro shot, the sharpness and the details of the insect looks nice,
take care,
tfs & regards
pankaj

Hola Ram.
Una fantástica macro.
Perfecto trabajo y buen comentario.
Saludos, JL.

I also painted a wasp onto TN today....mine was quite different and mine looks a bit more scary...although in stature you have given this strength through composition. the colour is confusing my mind a bit. I think we have archetypical notions running through our heads...or at least I do, and some trigger quick reactions. this one didn't. It stopped me and made me read carefully the notes..fine lesson Ram!
Bob

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1778 W: 8 N: 4597] (14871)
  • [2008-07-09 9:42]

Hi Ram,

Being under the weather didn't prevent you from getting a fantastic macro of this insect. The clarity is magnificent. Wonderful colors and details and the position is excellent.

Jane

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1681 W: 242 N: 5550] (19643)
  • [2008-07-09 13:46]

Quite a lot of internet connections are going down at the moment! I hope yours sorts itself out soon.
And I also hope your fever clears and you can start taking some more great shots :-)
Very sharp and detailed image.
Nice vibrent colours.
Great composition.

Well done, Ram,

Joe

Dear Ram Sir,
Hope you have enjoyed the B'day party & have recovered from flu. This is excellent photograph of Flower Wasps. I am happy that finally a good lens is recommended by you which holds true to my D200 too.
Regards-Subhash

Hello Ram,
Superb macro with sharp details and great colours
Well done
Albert

Originalidad, espectacilaridad y buena técnica.
Abrazo.

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