Predaceous Diving Beetle

[Steve Maxson]

In a comment on my previous post, John mentioned he had seen large Predaceous Diving Beetles with what appeared to be fungus growths on their exoskeletons. Here is large one (Dytiscus sp.) that I photographed last summer that has white objects attached to its exoskeleton (not on the eye) that also have the look of a fungus. These objects did not appear to be harmful to the beetle during the week that I kept it as it was very robust! 2.5 gallon aquarium setup, 1D IV, 100 mm macro, 1/125, f/16, ISO 160, 2 remotely fired 430EX flashes (manual mode, diffused), tripod, live view manual focus, mirror lock, cable release. I removed some of the floating bits of debris in the water and ran nr on the background. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[John Robinson]

Nice shot Steve. This looks similar to ours but a differentspecies. Well done- like the background.
I enclose one of the one I had that was covered in the fungus. I binned most of them as they looked awful. Had a job to find this one.
Just for reference.
Cheers
John

[Nancy Bell]

Steve. Another great water insect image! I really like the clear view of the specialized fringed hind legs used for swimming, as well as the details of the other legs & head. Great composition, lighting, pose, perch & bkgd. Have you ever tried to photograph a water strider?

[Steve Maxson]

John: Lots more fungus on yours! I wonder if that has anything to do with the age of the beetle - as they age, more things have time to get established on the beetle's exoskeleton - and perhaps as they near the end of their natural lifespan they may become more vulnerable to organisms that may be harmful. Just speculating here. Also, typically it is the females that have the ridges on the elytra that are so evident in your image.

Nancy: Speaking of specialized legs - I forgot to point out that males have specialized front legs. The enlarged round-looking structures on the front legs have suction cups on the underside (not readily visible in this image) that are used to help hold onto the female during mating. I haven't tried to photograph a water strider - yet. Stay tuned.

[Norm Dulak]

Steve.

In your previous post on this subject, I suggested that you provide a more lateral view. Thanks for providing it. I think this is much more interesting than the view of the beetle's back. Well done, and thanks!

[Steve Kaluski]

Cracking detain here Steve, the angle of the 'stem' (?) and beetle make for a strong and excellent composition, love the colours too.

TFS
Steve