Wasp Face: I miss the warmth and colors of summer however I don't miss the wasps with their never ending battle over whose home this is. This is one of my several preserved wasps that...

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I miss the warmth and colors of summer however I don't miss the wasps with their never ending battle over whose home this is. This is one of my several preserved wasps that lost this battle that I staged for a focus stacking session.

I tweaked the flocking of my gear a bit more last night and I think that it is now "vampire approved" for it is as dead black as I can possibly make it and I will produce several more before I consider the results to be a success.

As always, thanks in advance to all who view and for your comments, suggestions, questions and critique.

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PaulBa Loc: Cardiff, Wales

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

PaulBa wrote:

photosbytw Loc: Blue Ridge Mountains

Very well done but not sure about the gold tooth..........or whatever that is. I've never seen anything reflect like that

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

photosbytw wrote:

Very well done but not sure about the gold tooth..........or whatever that is. I've never seen anything reflect like that

Thanks and I think it gives him that "Gangster Look" which is exactly what I think they are. I walk the fields with my camera more summer days than not and I have yet to get tagged. At home thes S.O.B's got me a couple of times when I walk out the door.

photosbytw Loc: Blue Ridge Mountains

sippyjug104 wrote:

Thanks and I think it gives him that "Gangster Look" which is exactly what I think they are. I walk the fields with my camera more summer days than not and I have yet to get tagged. At home thes S.O.B's got me a couple of times when I walk out the door.

HA! Been there.......walked into a barn, years ago, to try to shoot some barn owls nesting. I was unaware there was a hornets nest near the owls. By the time the hornets got done with me.........I looked like the gangster......

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

That is beautifully done. Do you know what kind of wasp that is?

Mike

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Blenheim Orange wrote:

That is beautifully done. Do you know what kind of wasp that is?

Mike

Mike, I believe it to be a Polistes annularis based on what I can find which is one of the family of paper wasps. It's smaller than the "red devils" and it has a black abdomen where they are mostly red with dark tones.

I searched on Bugguide looking at photos to help ID it and this appears to be a good match.

Blenheim Orange Loc: Michigan

sippyjug104 wrote:

Mike, I believe it to be a Polistes annularis based on what I can find which is one of the family of paper wasps. It's smaller than the "red devils" and it has a black abdomen where they are mostly red with dark tones.

I searched on Bugguide looking at photos to help ID it and this appears to be a good match.

Ah, yes. Hadn't considered those guys. They are pretty common here, but I have not ever seen one indoors. They seem fairly harmless, but maybe I have been lucky. [i]Polistes dominula[/i[] is the problematic species here, including occasionally getting into the house. I have been stung by those.

Thanks.

Mike

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

This is beautifully done. I am immensely appreciating the care you take in lighting and flocking and so on. And those efforts are giving you fine returns like this.
I am alone in my house about voicing tolerance for our various paper wasps that nest within the siding of our house, and elsewhere on it. Their comings and goings have never been a real bother, other than a bit of psychological unnerving when one realizes things like a well formed nest a foot over the head of a frequently used doorway.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark Sturtevant wrote:

This is beautifully done. I am immensely appreciat... (show quote)

Thanks Mark, I moved from my Nikon D810 to the Fujifilm X-T20 to conserve what shutter life it may have left. I use all the gear that I used on the Nikon and of course it requires an adapter to go from F-mount to X-mount. I looked at that last night and found that although the inner surface was black it was not 'dull'. I put some adhesive black felt in it and it appears to have made quite a difference.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Beautifully done!! Any idea what the three black dots on top of head are for?

raymondh Loc: Walker, MI

Always so incredibly sharp!!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

ecobin wrote:

Beautifully done!! Any idea what the three black dots on top of head are for?

Thanks for asking. Those are the primitive eyes that sense dark and light. They work in conjunction with the large compound eyes. Not exactly like 'night vision' although about the same purpose.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

View this in download to be staggered. Wonderful image.