Velvet Ant – Mutillidae

Velvet Ant - Mutillidae

I found this Velvet Ant, at Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park during my review of Canon EOS 5DS R. I used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM with Canon EF 2X III Extender. Despite being a non macro lens, the closeup capability of this combination is quite satisfactory. Please note that the images here are … Read more

Halictine bee

Halictine bee

Honey bees are not the only bee species that are significant for human wellbeing. I found this Halictine bee resting by biting and hanging on to seed cluster of grass. Halictine bees which are also known as “sweat bees,” as they are often attracted to perspiration. They play a vital role in the pollination ecology. … Read more

Black Potter Wasp

Black Potter Wasp

On that Sunday I was looking out for critters in my garden. I found this black bee like insect with deep bluish iridescent wings (similar to carpenter bee but far slimmer and smaller than them) on an Indian almond (Terminalia catappa) flowers. On a closer inspection it turned out to be a wasp than a … Read more

Potter Wasp

Potter Wasp Giving Finishing Touches

When I was doing a shootout for the review of Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM I found this potter wasp at my garden building its nest. Unfortunately when i noticed she had built most of the nest and has gathered caterpillar to be served as food for her new born larvae. I was … Read more