Beautiful wasp

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Beautiful wasp

April 21, 2014 by Mike Powell

Isn’t “beautiful wasp” an oxymoron? Can a wasp really be considered to be beautiful? I may be insect-deprived after a long winter and my perceptions may be skewed, but I find the wasp in these two images to be exceptionally beautiful.

The rich reddish-brown of its upper body, with a pattern that looks like some exotic wood, and the bluish-purple of its wings make for a stunning combination, and the holly leaf provides a perfect backdrop.

I took this shot during a visit Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA this past weekend, a garden that featured thousands of tulips and other spring flowers in bloom, but almost no insects. I actually was not inside the garden, but was waiting outside the gift shop for some fellow photographers when I spotted this wasp sprawled out on the leaf, as shown in the second image. The nice thing about my 180mm macro is that I didn’t have to get right on top of the insect to capture some good detail. When I moved in a little closer, the wasp slowly climbed up the leaf, as captured in the first shot, before it flew away.

It was nice to see insects start to reappear and I suspect that I will start using my macro lens more and more as we move deeper into spring and into summer.

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged beautiful wasp, Canon 50D, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, oxymoron, Richmond VA, Tamron 180mm macro lens, wasp | 13 Comments

13 Responses

on April 21, 2014 at 6:54 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That is a beautiful wasp. I love all of the colors it wears. You got some great close-ups too.
- on April 21, 2014 at 6:57 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Usually wasps are flying around and tough to photograph, but this one was content to perch. Perhaps he was stalking a prey or simply was content to bask in the sun..
on April 21, 2014 at 10:01 am | Reply Dan Traun

Great detail.
on April 21, 2014 at 12:44 pm | Reply Ed

I find the New England WASPS to be more annoying than the small stinging variety..;-)
Great shots..
on April 21, 2014 at 12:52 pm | Reply klaudiakatona

That’s a beauitful vesp indeed 🙂 and you captured very well, wonderful sharp photograph Michael 😉
on April 21, 2014 at 1:19 pm | Reply dianaed2013

The colours are just amazing = we don’t usually see them
on April 21, 2014 at 2:10 pm | Reply Lyle Krahn

The colours in the first shot are fantastic and I like the way it’s looking over the top of the leaf. Well done.
on April 22, 2014 at 10:54 am | Reply caleephotography

I wouldn’t call any wasp beautiful, but I love the first picture!! The sharpness, the insects posture, the light and the colors are all Perfect. Great shot, Mike!!
on April 22, 2014 at 6:04 pm | Reply alifemoment

Nice shots, really clear!!
- on April 22, 2014 at 7:24 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The wasp was reasonably cooperative and the light was good, which mean I was able to get pretty good sharpness for a hand-held shot.
  - on April 23, 2014 at 2:32 am alifemoment
    
    🙂
on April 23, 2014 at 10:18 pm | Reply krikitarts

Have you checked into identifying this beautiful creature? It looks like it’s wearing a custom-made costume!
- on April 24, 2014 at 4:22 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I did a little searching and it looks like it could be a kind of spider wasp. Maybe I’ll be able to search some more this weekend and attempt to confirm the identification.