Friday 6 July 2012

THE UGLY BUG BALL 2012....THE 'MOVERS AND SHAKERS'






In the rare sunny spells that we've had over the last few weeks I've had the pleasure of photographing some of the 'stars' as they make their way to the annual gathering that is... The Ugly Bug Ball.


First on the scene is the Master of Ceremonies dressed in top hat and tails....

Beetle - oedemera nobilis


Now, you can't have a Ball without a man in a uniform...

Soldier Beetle - cantharis rustica


Then there's the 'hoverer' who spends their time just hanging around but never stays to get involved!...
Hoverfly - syrphus ribesii

Then you get the couple that are always late..'cause they had something better to do!!...

Spotted Crane-fly - nephrotoma appendiculata

Then there's the one who you can always 'see' right through...


Picture Winged Fly - oxyna parietina


You always get one individual who likes to draw attention to themselves by dressing in a garish outfit...

14-spot Ladybird - propylea 14-punctata

And the aloof couple with their smart clothes and their noses in the air, and he always has that harmless sting in his tail!...


Scorpion Fly - panopa germanica


No matter how the proceedings are going there's always someone who feels a little blue...

Nettle weevil - phyllobius pomaceus


Then there's the airy fairy one who flits about a lot but never seems to go anywhere...

May Fly - ephemera vulgata

The local 'Lady' always puts in an appearance, dressed in the finest of fabrics...

Lacewing - chrysopa perla

There's always someone buzzing around looking for the sweet things in life... 


Honey Bee - apis mellifera

Without fail there will always be a couple of 'bad boys' that try to ruin any good party...

Fly - phaonia angelicae

Flesh Fly - sarcophaga cameria

And finally the social climber who's always trying to make it to the top but no matter how hard you try you can never find out his name!!!...

??
Do you recognise him?


I hope you found it interesting meeting some of the guests to this years Ball and maybe, if the organisers manage to turn off the sprinklers and fire up that big glitter ball in the sky, I'll soon have the opportunity to photograph a few more!



 









22 comments:

FAB said...

Super post Trevor and excellent macro images.

The Herald said...

Thanks Frank...[;o)

holdingmoments said...

Cracking post Trevor.
Excellent set of images to accompany the great words.

I've known a few of those 'social climbers' in my time, but like you, their name escapes me.

The Herald said...

Thanks Keith, I know what you mean!!...[;o)

FOREST SNAPPER said...

GREAT STORY AND FANTASTIC PHOTOS. I look foward to your net blog Trevor.

peter

The Herald said...

Thanks very much Peter...[;o)

Bob Bushell said...

Wowee, you're a genius with the camera, brilliant photos, espeally the Scorpion Fly, superb.

The Herald said...

That's great praise indeed, coming from the maestro himself, thanks Bob...[;o)

grammie g said...

Hi Trevor...Great laugh ..nearly peed my pants lol!! Clever post!!
Awesomely told the story of the attendees of the ball.; } I do love the Lady Lacewing's gorgeous see through gown : } , and sure to be a airy fairy in there somewhere ; }!!
Like I said "real clever"! : }
Grace

Roy said...

Great set of macros Trevor.
The Hoverfly image is just perfection, very artistic. Those Mayfly are ugly looking things aren't they.

BlueShell said...

marvelous...stunning! i'm here...truing to guess...but I can't!
Congrats....Hugs
BShell

ShySongbird said...

Excellent photos Trevor and a very clever, fun commentary. :-)

I find those Lacewings extremely difficult to photograph, they are so delicate that it is really tricky to focus on them, you had no such problem though!

I think the insect world is really fascinating! Digital photography has allowed us to get so much 'closer ' to them.

theconstantwalker said...

A wonderful post Trevor your images are superb and the words put a big smile on my face.
Thanks for that...

The Herald said...

Hi Grace, Steady on there, no accidents now!!...lol
Thanks for your kind comments...[;o)



Thanks Roy. Yeh, they're all ugly in their own beautiful way!...[;o)



Thanks BlueShell...[;o)




Thanks Jan, as you can imagine there was much crawling about in the long grass, and wet knees, involved in taking these images!(would've made a great video!!)'Digital' has certainly made it easier for us amateurs to 'see' the beauty of the 'small' world that surrounds us...[;o)



Thanks Andrew glad you enjoyed it...[;o)

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

My kind of post, humor with outstanding photography. What is in your camera bag?

The Herald said...

Hi Tammy, glad you're liking what you're seeing...[;o)

In the bag...
Canon 50D
EF 100-400L IS USM
EF 100 Macro f2.8L IS USM
Sigma EX 10-20 DC HSM
Sony HDR-PJ10 Handycam
Canon G10 compact
Canon flashguns
various tripods and monopods
and all the other 'essential must have' gadgets and gizmos collected along the way.
and a bad back to help me carry it all!...lol.

Mike said...

Just came across your blog via holdingmoments, great macro photography. Feel free to stop by.

The Herald said...

Mike, welcome and thanks for visiting I'm glad you liked what you saw...[;o)

Joke (Joke's Camera) said...

I found your blog via another and see some fantastic macros here. Great work. I see some insects that I do not know. Very interesting. Greetings, Joke

The Herald said...

Hi Joke, thanks for calling by and for the kind comments...[;o)

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

Did you use the EF 100 F2.8L for these outstanding eye-popping macros?

The Herald said...

Hi Tammy, yeh that's the one, a super lens, good for portraits too!...[;o)