Black Ant
May 24, 2019 10:01:09 #
This is the Black Ant that I found on the porch late yesterday afternoon. I picked it up and tried to hold it until I could bring it into the house. If you ever think that you can close your hand tight, try keep an ant in your hand. It would crawl out of any crack of my hand it could find and I had to constantly wrangle it back.
Once I had it under control...IT BIT ME..OUCH...and held on tight until I could get into the basement where I could dispatch it. The next challenge was how to stage something small so I dipped an insect mounting pin into some Super Glue and adhered it to it. Finally, Smile and Face the Camera!
Once I had it under control...IT BIT ME..OUCH...and held on tight until I could get into the basement where I could dispatch it. The next challenge was how to stage something small so I dipped an insect mounting pin into some Super Glue and adhered it to it. Finally, Smile and Face the Camera!
May 24, 2019 10:17:58 #
May 24, 2019 10:59:36 #
Beautifully done! Ants tend to have interesting fine textures, which is very well shown here on DL.
May 24, 2019 11:00:57 #
May 24, 2019 11:18:23 #
May 24, 2019 11:32:15 #
May 24, 2019 13:21:13 #
That is amazing Gary. I must remember not to hang around in your porch.
May 25, 2019 07:29:59 #
May 25, 2019 10:45:03 #
Wow! What we occasionally have to go thru to get a great shot! Very nice!
May 25, 2019 13:24:13 #
What an incredible photo of the ant face. I always see these photos and think how dangerous our lives would be if this thing was 5 feet long with those jaws to rip us apart. Thank God He made them tiny as even you can attest with the small bite.
He looks to have hairs on his face. I doubt he is in the mammal range though. Ha.
Well done.
Dennis
He looks to have hairs on his face. I doubt he is in the mammal range though. Ha.
Well done.
Dennis
May 26, 2019 00:50:11 #
Great shot! So, is this fella expired? I'm a newbie here to macro. When finding a cool specimen, what's the best way to murder them? And then store them?
May 26, 2019 10:34:28 #
I've attached a PDF book titled, "Arthropod Collecting and Identifying" for you that is very informative that I hope that you enjoy. Simply click on "Download" and it should open in your viewer. You can then save it for future reference.
The simple way to dispatch an insect is to make a "Kill Jar". There are a number of ways to make one and I make the simplest. The best chemical is Ethyl Acetate the 2nd best is Acetone which can easily be found as "nail polish remover". I got my nail polish remover at the Dollar General - 100% Acetone - for $1.50 or just get a can of Acetone at the local hardware store. You won't need much so it should last a long time.
Take a mason jar and place cotton balls in the bottom. Pour in the Acetone until they are saturated with some liquid visible on the bottom. Fold a paper towel and lay it over the cotton balls so that the insect has something to lay on. Place the insect in the jar and close the lid tight. It will take a few minutes for it to succumb. It you take it out too soon it may revive so I usually drink a cup of coffee while waiting.
The insect will remain supple when kept in the jar so you can pose it's legs or wings when you remove it.
I store soft bodied insects in denatured alcohol (available at any local hardware store) and they keep for a very long time that way. I've stored some for a year so far.
Insects that have hairs or that are fuzzy will matt (bad hair day) when stored in alcohol so I store them dry in empty pill bottles or glass tubes. I put a chip of mothballs in with them to keep microscopic sized insects from eating them. For long term storage you can place the bottles in the refrigerator or freezer and they should last for years that way.
Dry mounting for display is a different technique and I don't do that. Mine are used as photo specimens. At times I place the insect onto something that represents its natural habitat such as a flower, piece of bark, twig, leaves, etc. and I take a wider view photo of it. My highly magnified views are more of a view for the study of its structure so no posing on any substrate is needed.
I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have that I can. Micro/Macro photography has become a passion and I truly enjoy sharing it with others.
The simple way to dispatch an insect is to make a "Kill Jar". There are a number of ways to make one and I make the simplest. The best chemical is Ethyl Acetate the 2nd best is Acetone which can easily be found as "nail polish remover". I got my nail polish remover at the Dollar General - 100% Acetone - for $1.50 or just get a can of Acetone at the local hardware store. You won't need much so it should last a long time.
Take a mason jar and place cotton balls in the bottom. Pour in the Acetone until they are saturated with some liquid visible on the bottom. Fold a paper towel and lay it over the cotton balls so that the insect has something to lay on. Place the insect in the jar and close the lid tight. It will take a few minutes for it to succumb. It you take it out too soon it may revive so I usually drink a cup of coffee while waiting.
The insect will remain supple when kept in the jar so you can pose it's legs or wings when you remove it.
I store soft bodied insects in denatured alcohol (available at any local hardware store) and they keep for a very long time that way. I've stored some for a year so far.
Insects that have hairs or that are fuzzy will matt (bad hair day) when stored in alcohol so I store them dry in empty pill bottles or glass tubes. I put a chip of mothballs in with them to keep microscopic sized insects from eating them. For long term storage you can place the bottles in the refrigerator or freezer and they should last for years that way.
Dry mounting for display is a different technique and I don't do that. Mine are used as photo specimens. At times I place the insect onto something that represents its natural habitat such as a flower, piece of bark, twig, leaves, etc. and I take a wider view photo of it. My highly magnified views are more of a view for the study of its structure so no posing on any substrate is needed.
I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have that I can. Micro/Macro photography has become a passion and I truly enjoy sharing it with others.
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