Mating Red-footed Cannibalflies

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Mating Red-footed Cannibalflies

August 19, 2014 by Mike Powell

As I was walking through my local marsh yesterday, I caught sight of a giant flying insect. Upon closer examination, it proved to be a pair of mating Red-footed Cannibalflies (Promachus rufipes).

They eventually settled on a leaf, just above eye level. It was a heavily vegetated area and it was tough getting a clear line of sight and a good angle of view (and standing on my tiptoes probably is not an optimal shooting position). This first shot was the only one I got where both of these giant insects were in focus.

At a certain point of time, one of them, which I suspect was the female, tried to escape and I got the second shot, capturing an unusual moment in time. In the original version, the background was mostly light colored, but there were some ugly smudges of greenish gray. I tried to remove them hastily in post processing to highlight better the subjects, but I noted that I didn’t do a very good job when, after the fact, I looked at the posting on a computer screen, vice my laptop, on which it was composed..

The second shot seems to be begging for a clever caption. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, mating Red-footed Cannibalflies, mating robber flies, Promachus rufipes, Red-footed Cannibalfly, robber fly, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on August 19, 2014 at 10:33 am | Reply cindydyer

Second photo caption: One night stand 😉 Great captures—especially love the symmetry of nature in the first shot.
on August 19, 2014 at 12:04 pm | Reply waltersanford

OMG, who knew there are cannibals at Huntley Meadows Park?!?
on August 19, 2014 at 2:04 pm | Reply krikitarts

NOW do you understand why I keep telling you to use your rear-view mirror when you’re backing up, Sweetie?
on August 19, 2014 at 3:06 pm | Reply benrowef64

Caption for the second image, ” Honey I am telling you, I tripped, fell and got stuck, I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
Nice shots.
on August 19, 2014 at 10:11 pm | Reply donna213

I never saw that insect before. It is big? I will have to keep a look out. Wonderful capture in their special moment.
- on August 20, 2014 at 5:23 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Donna. This insect is an inch and a half long (which is pretty big, as insects go). I’ve seen then pretty regularly this past month, though it is a bit tough to get close enough to get a good photo.
on August 20, 2014 at 12:17 am | Reply Bruce Ruston

Great shots as for the caption well “to you to me, to you” sorry it is very early 😀
on August 20, 2014 at 7:01 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I’ve wondered for a long time how two insects can fly together like that. I’m not sure of a caption but the one on the leaf looks like it’s hanging on for dear life while the other is trying to pull it away.
on August 20, 2014 at 8:22 am | Reply Ed

1 sec after the second pic…..OUCH! 🙂
Excellent shots..
on August 20, 2014 at 11:47 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

Great photo, despite interrupting this special moment.