Beetle on tree trunk

[shane shacaluga]

Found this nice looking beetle walking down a tree trunk in the woods the other day. Seems to be eating the sap from the tree
Pic in other sized can be seen on http://www.flickr.com/photos/53037879@N07/7538935348/in/photostream/

Nikon D7000 with 105mm f2,8 VR micro lens. Handheld VR on

f14 @ 1/250 Auto iso 320

no flash as sun was very bright

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7538935348_fd1cb55096_c.jpg

[PhilCook]

Looks like a species of Weevil, it does look a little soft, and although VR can help sometimes, I think for macro you are better turning it off and using tripod and mirror lockup to get the best sharpness. Not a bad composition with the touch of blue sky, hairy little beastie

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Shane. I agree with Phil - this looks to be a weevil. Good sharpness for HH in natural light and I like the comp with the weevil off-center and at a diagonal. The blue sky background is a nice touch. You might try selectively toning down the two sections of tree trunk as they are rather bright and are drawing my eye. Overall, this is nicely done!