Banana Drama …
Aggression as communication. Occasionally the giant beetle glanced in the ants direction. Well aware of each other.
*Click the pictures …
Aware but not intimidated, armoured as she is. The ants were focussed on the beetle as she continued eating regardless.
The ants settled down and now and then one would come to inspect the giant, perhaps to bathe in its quiet presence.
At some point it all got disturbed and the beetle came to life, other than eating, and I got a few shots for the record.
The Chafer Beetles have had their fill, only one to the fermenting banana this week, and only for a day or so.
The little black ants are also retreating from the cold, plus it has been overcast for a couple days, so colder too.
Had a look just after sundown and there was a Gecko lapping up the banana juice, may account for the missing beetles.
Quite an active little world, the railing on the veranda.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click on those pictures for a closer look
*
*
Nature's Place 
That banana was widely appreciated, Mark! Here in the northern hemisphere, we are, of course, moving rapidly into the season of plenty rather than out of it. It’s lovely to track the opposite experience through your posts.
Now you can be in summer and winter on the same day, virtually. Banana season is coming to an end … maybe one last go this week.
Just amazing pics!! Love the last one talk about the incredible hulk
Thanks Therese. This was a big one. Not as big as the Gecko though.
Very nice. I really like the second with all the ants.
I can just hear the beetle ‘Oh oh, here comes trouble’.
What dramatic photos! Excellent detail … I can’t believe the clarity. I work with a Canon PowerShot G12 (several years old). Most of the time I’m happy with it but Wow! when I see your pics … well, this is me, turning green. :-)
That is old. I was using the Panasonic FZ50 (+ achromat/s) until recently and it did a fine job but the G5/6 (+ Oly 60/f2.8 and achromat) is so much faster and dynamic range significantly wider with equivalent dof. It’s worth upgrading when the right stuff comes along.
Apart from a stable platform flash helps sharpen an image by being the effective shutter speed but it also has to be properly diffused and of appropriate size relative to the object. See 1/5th the way down the page here – https://beingmark.com/macro-illustrated/
Thank you, Mark. After I posted my comment I read your excellent post on macro. I hadn’t thought of using flash … your idea of diffusers is also another shoulda-thought-of. :-) I’ll have to return several times to absorb all your suggestions. I appreciates your nature-based approach to photography – calm, in-the-moment, meditative. My philosophy as well. Thanks again.
Thanks Sally. The idea is flash can be very short pulse duration (1/20,000s = motion stopping sharp). It’s all covered in the link …
Super cool :-)
:-)
Love that focus the beetle has on the important thing – food. And not the wee annoying ants.
Secure inside that armoured exoskeleton.