Getting Even Closer

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This is Dicyrtomina saundersi, a springtail, and boy do they jump if they feel threatened. This is an uncropped image. I have experimented with extension tubes for the first time ever this morning, and have found using the 36 mm tube in combination with my Raynox 250 they work pretty well. Normally I would have had to crop the image some to get closer.

The original image was 6000 x 4000 pixels but I have reduced it down to 2000 x 1333 pixels for internet use and have reduced the quality a little to bring down the file size.

Oh, and yes, I probably snapped this individual at an inopportune moment … but there you go in the world of photography.

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Cuter Than Cute – For A Bug

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Dicyrtomina saundersi is its name, and not an insect (although previously considered to be) but a springtail. There is a kind of ‘spaceman’ like figure in the pattern towards the head, and a distinct dark barred patch towards the rear of the abdomen which helps separate it from similar species.

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It looked directly up at me here … and appears to have kinda smiled, or may be it was a grimace?

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This is a young one, a juvenile, and a female with the pale cheeks. It is around 2 mm (5/64 in) long.

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Seen all year round under stones and bark in various habitats. A native species, and fairly common and widespread throughout Britain.

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You can double-click images to enlarge once passed the advertising landing page.

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