The seamy underside

[Nancy Bell]

I was amazed to see all the different insects under this thistle flower! Maybe the attraction is a sweet exudate? I focused on the ladybug, but there were ants, I believe the red things are spider mites, and smaller stuff I could not see well without a magnifying glass. Plus bees, and other pollinators on the top.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100 f2.8 macro, resting on a tripod (I forgot the proper tripod head:Whoa!:), 1/400, f8, exposure compensation +2/3, ISO 2500 (cloudy day).

[Diane Miller]

Great handling of an "Oooops" situation! Thistles do provide a habitat for a lot of things. Great DOF on the ladybug and thistle -- not easy to do. Is she eating smaller insects?

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Nancy,
Very nicely detailed - looks like your tripod arrangement actually worked quite well. I also like the diagonal of the thistle through the image. Nice one...

Allen

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very interesting shot good detail on the ladybird/bug - she may be after aphids whom the ants "milk" for honeydew. I don't know if it is possible to try for more similar shots but I would suggest at this magnification go for f11 and f16 just to see if there is any benefit - you could still have 1/200 sec which should be fine unless it is blowing a gale.

[Nancy Bell]

Thanks everyone and good suggestion for more DOF.