I haven't touched the Africa photos in weeks - it seems the task is so daunting that I can't even find a place to start! Managed to scrounge up a bit of motivation today and got to work on one of my favourite groups of Madagascar bugs - the hoppers. This is actually a few closely-related groups of 'true bugs' that exist all over the world. Their diversity, colours and patterns are often spectacular, but they are almost always tiny - all but the first one are about the size of a grain of rice - which makes them very difficult to see. I started picking these out on the vegetation during a night hike near Andasibe National Park, and the guide had never even noticed them before. If there weren't so many other things to see in Madagascar, I could have spent days searching for different species!
Their tiny size also makes them somewhat challenging to photograph, especially with the limited equipment one might carry overseas! All of these guys were shot handheld with a Canon 7D and Tamron 180mm Macro in the dark, except the fifth one which was taken with a point-and-shoot.
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
This last hopper has met an unfortunate end, due to a parasitic fungus which is now growing out of the insect!
Unknown Madagascar Hopper
That's all for now!
Kyle
No comments:
Post a Comment