Parasitized Tobacco Hornworm

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Manual mode
1/500"
F20
ISO 200
Canon 430EX with extended bounce card: On, Fired
HH
CS5

This Tobacco Hornworm is covered with braconid wasp pupae. The eggs are injected into the caterpillar where the larve hatch and feed. When they are ready to pupate, they head back outside and spins their coccoons. Once they adults emerge, the caterpiller dies.

Cropped, SH to brighten some of the areas on the underside of the caterpillar, contrast, desaturated the overly bright greens, cloned out some unsightly fuzz on the edges of the cocoons, sharpened with high pass and smart sharpening. The black spots are damage caused by the wasps and I left them since they are part of the story. It was breezy which is why I used the fast SS and bright flash....this caused the black BG. As mentioned before, it's been a busy summer and I didn't have much time to play with the camera but when something like this is shoved in my face, I have no choice but to capture a few images. If I'd had more time, I might have tried with some of my printed BG's.

[Ron Sprunger]

That's a little tough to look at, but it's an absolutely wonderful image. Well done. The detail's great, and you managed to keep control of the whites perfectly. Love the black BG and great DOF.

[Jason Stander]

Outstanding image... superb comp, detail, exp... and thank you for such informative info... TFS!:w3

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Ken, this is a great shot...love it! I have seen Tomato Hornworms before, but not these guys. Did it spit at you?

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ken. I've known about these types of parasites for many years, but have never actually seen a caterpillar infested like this. It looks like you made the most of your photo opportunity! The flash gave you great lighting, you have good overall sharpness, I like the comp, the caterpillar gave you a great pose, and all the parasites make for an interesting biological story. Normally, I'm not a big fan of black backgrounds, but I think it works very well in this instance. You have a winner - I wouldn't change a thing! :cheers:

[Anita Bower]

Great image! The use of flash worked very well. Great composition. The black bg works to your advantage here. I've seen these, but none as attractive (?) as yours.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Ken, I can only echo the compliments above. Great comp and I like the black BG in this case, because it makes the whole image about it's main subject and the story it's telling. Great work!