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The Best of Myrmecos 2009

December 28, 2009 by myrmecos

Earlier I listed my pick of the best insect photos of the year taken by other photographers. Now it’s my turn. In 2009, I snapped 8000 exposures to produce 805 processed, saleable images of live insects. Below are my favorites.

A parasitic Pseudacteon fly targets a fire ant in Argentina

Male size variation in Onthophagus dung beetles

Aphaenogaster ants are tempted by the elaiosome of a bloodroot seed, Illinois

Eastern treehole mosquito larvae, Illinois

Trophallaxis in wood ants, Wisconsin

Face to face with a giant water bug, Illinois

male and female northern walking sticks, Illinois

metamorphosis in a twig ant, Florida

A miniature trap-jaw ant forages in the leaf litter, Florida

A volley of debris hurled by an ant lion traps a carpenter ant, Florida

The tip of the trap-jaw ant's trap, Argentina

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Posted in Ants, fun, Insect Links, Nature | Tagged 2009, Ants, digital photography, Insects, macrophotography, Photography | 21 Comments

21 Responses

  1. on December 28, 2009 at 9:06 am Andrew N

    Trophallaxis ahaha.


  2. on December 28, 2009 at 9:20 am Rick Lieder

    Great images, Alex. I’m looking forward to many more in 2010 . . .


    • on December 29, 2009 at 8:57 am myrmecos

      Thanks Rick! And of course we’re all looking forward to seeing your stuff in the coming year.


  3. on December 28, 2009 at 11:57 am Warren

    Thank you. Interesting style differences; yours are less artistic and more precise than your “best of.” The photographers’ personal relationships with nature coming through in their work. Thought you might have limited it to nine, but why not treat yourself in your own house? If you don’t do it, no one will.

    Specific comments:

    -The bug pic is so colourful for a face of death!
    -I like the autumn tones in the walking sticks (ON boy).
    -The ant lion gets pretty artistic … I like it!

    Cheers


    • on December 29, 2009 at 8:56 am myrmecos

      This strikes me as a very fair assessment. Most of the photographers I featured in the “Best Of” list are artists. I am not- I’m more of a naturalist/scientist, and my images are intended to capture particular behaviors or particular species rather than any particular aesthetic.

      So within the confines of the subject I aim for the best aesthetic I can. But that’s a different thing than setting out to create a compelling image foremost.


  4. on December 28, 2009 at 4:24 pm Ted C. MacRae

    I was hoping the giant water bug would be in here – that’s my favorite.

    The parasitic fly is my favorite in terms of a natural history moment.

    The walkingstick should also be mentioned – the autumn tones in the background really make it.

    I’ll have mine up in a few days – not to suggest I’m in your league. Perhaps I should title it “beginner’s best.”


  5. on December 29, 2009 at 3:10 am Jack Jumper

    Alex

    The water Bug yes it Ok. But my all time favorite is one from last year collection Lonely it has very thing.


  6. on December 29, 2009 at 6:53 am Mom

    My favorite is the walking sticks. Well done, Alex! XXXMom


  7. on December 29, 2009 at 10:08 am Warren

    @Jack Jumper: where is the “Lonely” pic? This is the second year in a row you’ve mentioned it.


    • on December 29, 2009 at 10:17 am myrmecos

      That’d be here.


  8. on December 29, 2009 at 10:08 am mike

    Great photos! The parasitic fly photo is tied with the antlion photo for my personal favorite.


  9. on December 29, 2009 at 10:43 am Dave

    The trap-jaw ant foraging on the decomposing leaf is a beautiful composition – I’m a sucker for photographs that look like paintings (as opposed to paintings that look like photographs). It would look great on a cover of a book on soil zoology or at poster size on a living room wall.


  10. on December 29, 2009 at 1:17 pm Livio L

    My favourite: mosquito larvae.


  11. on December 30, 2009 at 8:09 am gmramon

    I should agree with Dave. I love leaf litter ants, so I love the trap-jaw ant photo, congratulations!


  12. on December 30, 2009 at 9:39 pm erikabear

    I *so* appreciate your naturalist/scientist’s eye. While I appreciate the artists’ approaches, so often they obscure the true “nature” of the insects–and what excites me is a glimpse into that world that seems so distant from that of humans, merely because we’re too big to see into it with our naked eyes. Thanks for the travel to other scales. 🙂


  13. on December 31, 2009 at 11:33 am japobo

    Fantásticas fotos !!!.
    Feliz Año Nuevo 2010 y no dejes de hacer fotos.


  14. on January 1, 2010 at 4:25 am goodbear

    great, great, great!
    love your photos!


  15. on January 1, 2010 at 7:40 pm Pete Yeeles

    Great selection, Alex. My personal favourite from these is actually the Aphaenogasters with the seed. Not sure what it is that I like so much about it; think it might be the rich green background and saturated colours (combined with a little interesting biology..)


  16. on January 2, 2010 at 6:49 pm Henry W. Robison

    The giant water bug and the trap-jaw ant from Argentena are my favorites…but you make it hard to choose as all of these are spectacular! You really had a great 2009 Alex1 Her’s looking for more of these in 2010!

    Happy New Year in 2010!


  17. on January 3, 2010 at 6:38 am jason

    They’re all spectacular, but I can’t help but say the water bug gets my vote every time. It’s so otherworldly in that pose. You did a great job capturing it: the stillness, the predatory instinct, the watchful eyes, the comfort under the surface. And I’m definitely looking forward to the marvels you come up with for 2010.


  18. on January 14, 2010 at 3:04 pm Which Way to Go? « The Bug Whisperer

    […] scientific record and into the art of photography. His science also gives him an insight into insect behaviour, which allows him to photograph aspects of the lives of his subjects of which most of us are not […]



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