When my family got involved in the regeneration of our local woodland, I never imagined that one of our tasks would be to photograph the insects in that space. My True Love (TL) needed little encouragement as he already had an interest in insects. Suffice to say, he has found it extraordinarily difficult to get these small creatures in focus. The wind seems to blow constantly and the insects make haste to avoid being eaten or to eat others. Kudos to all the insect photographers out there. I’m not one of them. You have to take lots of photos to get one or two in focus, at least my TL does on his particular camera. Anyway, today I am featuring a few of the photos my TL has taken over the last six months. Let’s get started.

Bug eyes.

Purple-winged mantid – Tenodera australasiae

What do you think? Spider egg sacs?

Two-tailed spider egg sac?


Beetles seem to be the favourite prey of many insects, although to be strictly accurate, spiders are not insects.

Diamondback comb-footed spider – Cryptachaea veruculata

Apparently the Cerceris, or digger, wasp likes beetles too. My TL is lucky enough just to get the photo of the wasp, so no beetles were eaten in this photo. Cute, don’t you think?

Cerceris wasp – Cerceris sp. (genus)

My TL also took some photos of cuckoos. How about this tiny cuckoo wasp? It is only about 4-5mm long and super fast.

Cuckoo Wasp – Primeuchroeus sp. (genus)

And a Chequered cuckoo bee. Seriously, there is such a thing.

Chequered Cuckoo Bee – Thyreus caeruleopunctatus

Halictad bees are also tiny. At least, these ones are. The first one has just emerged from a tiny Wahlenbergia, our native bluebell, and the second is roosting in some grass.

Halictid Bee – Lasioglossum (Chilalictus) lanarium


My TL tried to take some photos of meat ants launching their queens. But it was a bit hard to get them in focus. I was hollering in the background because the ants were biting me as they were scrambling up my jeans. Definitely had ants in me pants. We had to move away quickly. I thought I would have to drop my dacks on the track to get them out. Just imagine if other walkers had came across a man doing the same thing? He probably would have got into some serious trouble for being a flasher. Anyway, back to the photos – a meat ant pushing a lump of dirt downhill.

Meat Ant – Iridomyrmex purpureus

Speaking of beetles being eaten alive …. We know ants gotta eat, but my TL nevertheless rescued this beetle. The ants would not let that poor beetle go. My TL had a devil of a job freeing it. You have got to be joking if you think I am going anywhere near those ants.


Well, I can’t leave you traumatised so I will finish off with this lovely photo of a Yellow Admiral butterfly on a scribbly gum.

Yellow Admiral Butterfly – Vanessa itea

Thank you to Donna from Wind Kisses for coming up with this theme. It is probably the only subject that I can talk a lot about but don’t have to do any of the work to bring the images to you.

Now bugger off (Aussie slang for “Off you go.” No offense intended.)

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

41 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – What’s Bugging You?”

  3. Oh, Tracy…I scooted past most of these, but the cuckoo wasp is a beauty. Please thank your TL for me for rescuing that poor beetle, although the poor thing was probably traumatized by those ants. **leave him alone, you bullies!!**

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  5. I love these bugs, especially the mantis. Once on a hike I sat down on a rock and suddenly the grass was moving. I put my hand down and this guy’s relative — a stick bug — climbed up my hand onto my arm. I stayed there a long time until he decided on his own to move on. As for ants, I hate them.

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    1. They look all-knowing with their big eyes. I wonder what that stick insect made of you, Martha?
      As for ants, we have a few nasty imports. The fire ants haven’t made it here yet. Probably just a matter of time. You definitely know when the meat ants nip you. They were very fierce in defending their queens. Generally the ants do good things.

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      4. Basically the invaded an entire bin of dog food — 50 pounds. In China, they invaded everything. I had to burn them but that fun. I drizzled Chinese “whiskey” on them and lit a fire. They didn’t come back because they are smart. Another time in Descanso they came in and infiltrated the cupboard where I kept stuff like macaroni. I got jars. I figure — mostly — live and let live. In China, no because it was very very very difficult to get the kind food the ants infiltrated. It was a 2 hour bike ride both ways, returning with bags of groceries. 🤣 That called for revenge…

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  10. hahaha. I have waited patiently (ok, not so patiently) for your post this week, Tracy. And you did not disappoint. You had me laughing and also intrigued. And of course there is also a horror movie brewing through my head -of being carried off alive by ants. lol

    The bug eyes were a great start. The spider sac eggs were unique to see, and a fascinating capture of the comb-footed spider. The detail of the colorful cuckoos, are nature’s art, and gosh it is hard to believe something so pretty can sting so bad. I loved the green one.

    Thank you Tracy, A wonderful post. give TL a hug. I am sure his photos will be enjoyed by many, and with your words…so fun. Have a good weekend.

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  12. Well done to your TL. I think any insect photographers need to have the patience of a saint. So saying, sometimes you get lucky and there’s no wind disturbing the foliage they’re on.
    Hard surfaces or a windless day seem to be the only answer for most of us amateur photographers.

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