Sunday, March 31, 2024

Bee-Grabber Flies and Flower Spider

This Myopa testacea, a Thick-headed  or Conopid fly, is also known as a Bee-Grabber as it does exactly that - travels to the top of plants and sits there waiting for a passing bee. It then attaches itself to the bee gaining entrance to its nest and laying eggs in the nest. The Myopa  larvae parasitze the bee larvae. These photo-stacked images show how wonderfully adapted it is for this with large upward facing eyes, powerful legs and sharp curved claws. The two head enlargements show the difference between a jpeg from in camera stacking and the same set of images, but the Raw versions processed first in DXO rawPrime 3 and stacked with Zerene Stacker. Final image focus-stacked flower  spider.

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