Giant Water Bug & eggs

[Steve Maxson]

Same species of Giant Water Bug (Family Belostomatidae - likely Belostoma sp.) as my last post. In the smaller species of GWB, the female lays her eggs on the back of the male. The male then carries the eggs around with him until they hatch. 2.5 gallon aquarium setup, 1D IV, 100 mm macro, 1/125, f/16, ISO 160, 2 remotely fired 430EX flashes (manual mode, diffused), HH, AF. I removed some of the floating bits of debris in the water and ran nr on the background. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Bob Miller]

Steve....nice image! I don't shoot much flash but the light in thius shot looks sweet to me esp on the eggs! Well done! TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

Steve I was wondering how on earth you were going to top your last image, well now I know. Beautiful light composition and detail, an entirely natural looking image - really first class.

[Mitch Haimov]

Truly fine work, Steve! The eggs came out beautifully. They look pearlescent. Eggs, parts of the GWB, and the stalk all appear to be illuminated from within.

Have you thought about doing a magazine article? Several ways you could go--local ecology, photography how-to, portfolio + photographer's bio. Your work is more artistic, more technically sound, and far more original than too much of what I see in Outdoor Photographer or Nature's Best. If you're up for a little self promotion there's no reason your work couldn't be featured.

[Norm Dulak]

This is truly stunning, Steve. The light, detail and color are all splendid. There are some spots in the dark background that almost look like dust spots that could easily be cloned out if desired. But this is impressive in any event.

[Nancy Bell]

Fantastic! I can't imagine there is another image like this of a belostomatid with eggs on its back, anywhere! I totally agree with all the above comments. Very nice touch with the details on the stem and the position of the insect. Here's another vote for a magazine article or maybe an e-book.

[Maureen Allen]

This is really amazing work, Steve.

[Mitch Haimov]

How long can you keep these critters going in your tank? I see that dad needs to be able to get out of the water regularly. Keeping him fed could be tedious, tho he can eat almost anything, including feeder crickets. Would be really cool if you could catch some of the nymphs emerging! Don't know how long ago the eggs were laid, but they only need about three weeks from then to hatching.

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the comments everyone! :S3:

Mitch: I usually release these invertebrates once I'm done photographing them. Many can be kept for a considerable period of time if you provide sufficient food - in many species this means other aquatic invertebrates. Whenever I have a mixed species setup going, some inevitably become food for others - just like what happens all the time out in the small ponds. The large Predaceous Diving Beetles seem to have a fondness for earthworms. I was really hoping to keep this guy long enough to see and photograph the eggs hatching. Unfortunately, after a couple days, I watched him use his hind legs to scrape all the eggs off his back. I don't know if that was due to stress or some other reason. He seemed to be fine and healthy once the eggs were removed.