The earwig and the ant

[Jonathan Ashton]

Tripod Canon 1DX Canon 180mm macro ISO 400 1/250 sec f16 fill in flash -1.6
I had some fun taking these images and yet had some disappointment, I got several shots where the ant latched onto the earwig and in a flash the earwig whipped his rear end and dumped the ant, the problem was there wasn't enough DOF. Also got the earwig trapping the ant with his pincers but again not enough DOF so I had to make do with this one, here the ant had just got a hold on the pincer before he was flicked off.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jon. Sounds like you had an interesting experience with these two! Very cool behavior captured, good DOF throughout, nicely composed, and a clean background. Did you have a diffuser on your flash? My only comment is that the spectral highlights seem a bit brighter than ideal - though not a big deal in this case. You might consider cloning some of the brightest areas. Very nicely done!

[MiroslavMaric]

Hi Jonathan. Good interaction and frame. Like the sharp details and DOF. Regarding highlights I agree with above comment. TFS.

Cheers,
Miro

[Nancy Bell]

Super fascinating interaction! For DOF it always helps when the critters are on the same plane, like this. But of course, having an image of either of the interactions you described would have been very cool. Having 2 species interact makes a great image and this looks a bit like David and Goliath! Well done!

[Diane Miller]

Nice!! And very interesting! I thought from a first look that the earwig had caught the ant and was taking it home. What on earth was the ant planning to do with the earwig???