Happy Snappy Ecologist: Pond Skater
Pond skaters - see them all the time - but not like this! How incredible they look close up! Well worth getting a bit wet and muddy for whilst lying down on the river bank, desperately trying to hold the camera still enough over the water for a macro shot!
Far from having just a plain, shiny exoskeleton, they are really textured with lots of little hairs that apparently help to repel water.
....and zooming out again to see the whole beast there is such an incongruous beauty to their gangly legged, semi-balletic poise!
There are several different species of pond skater in the UK. They are tricky to tell apart and I could find very little information to aid species identification, so no Latin names today - just the joy of seeing an oft glanced over creature up close.
Happy Snappy Ecologist: Rambling through nature makes me very Happy and I can't resist getting Snappy with my hand-held Panasonic Lumix FZ45 with clip on Raynox 150 macro lens. This helps me share my love of Ecology with others and reminds me to identify and find out more about different species when I get home. Enjoy!
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Always good in life to focus on some small areas and admire the beauty
Very true @stickchumpion and it's amazing what you see when you stop to look :)
wow absolutely amazing shots my friend :)
It is really hard to get good pictures of those pond skaters. Have been struggling quite often^^
Thank you. Going to have a dabble at whirligig beetles next I think!
oh very great :)
looking forward to your pictures ;)
I have never photographed them...