Physocephala tibialis, face, scarpulla, virginia 2014-07-09-18.19 (30735480044)

If you are a bumble bee (how fascinating if you were...) this fly would be your worst nightmare. You be flying along, warmed by the sun as you joyfully gathered pollen and nectar from flowers, then Wham, this fly, about half your size, would latch onto you and with the tip of its abdomen force itself between your abdominal segments and insert its egg. Later, that egg would hatch, crawl inside you and gradually eat you alive, but yet, you could do nothing about it. Ultimately you would perish, alone, burying yourself as commanded by your parasite, perhaps suffering some sort of existential realignment with yourself before you go, perhaps not. Another casualty of the cruelness that is Nature. This unremorseful, unempathetic killer, Physocephala tibialis,was captured by Gene Scarpulla in Virginia.

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All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.

Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200

Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all

Ye know on earth and all ye need to know

" Ode on a Grecian Urn"

John Keats

You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:

Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World

www.qbookshop.com/products/216627/9780760347386/Bees.html...

Basic USGSBIML set up:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY

USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4

PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:

ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf

Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:

plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo

or

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU

Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:

www.photomacrography.net/

Contact information:

Sam Droege

sdroege@usgs.gov

301 497 5840

us geological survey conopidae anatomy files by usgs bee inventory and monitoring laboratory physocephala tibialis bees ultra high resolution high resolution copyright free medical images public domain anatomy images

10/12/2016

U.S. Geological Survey

http://commons.wikimedia.org/

public domain