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Ben S

@twizzt@sauropods.win

mastodon 4.7.3

Open on sauropods.win

I am naturalist and macro photography enthusiast. I want to share how I see the tiny things in this world that make life livable. I have a MS in biology which focused on the ecology of plants, their insect herbivores, and the parasitoids that preyed on them.

I may occasionally toot about #chronicPain or #dyslexia but generally only to commiserate with others. You needn't notify my about misspellings as I just don't care anymore...

470 Followers

208 Following

16 Posts

Joined November 19, 2022

iNat:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=bensmith605&verifiable=any

FlickR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/31275091@N03/

Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 3mo ago

Boosted by @trending@homestead.social

I was flipping rocks today and came across more of the bright red springtails. I think they were under 90% of my landscape rocks today. I took these at higher magnification, and to my surprise, I seemed to get great depth of field. These guys are so tiny, but I took these at over 5x. There were a couple of the even tinier translucent white entomobryiods but I didn't really capture them. They actually spring! #Nature #Photography #Arthropods #Insects #Collembola #SriLanka #Springtail #Macro

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 5mo ago

Gathering at the starfruit.

#Ceratina #Insects #Ghost #Ants #Starfruit #Averrhoa #carambola #Nature #Photography

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 6mo ago

This wasp was ovipositing in some insect hidden behind the curl of the petal (sepal) on a heliconia plant. This chalcid is like a 1/4 the size of a grain of rice. If I have this ID'ed correctly, this is an aphid parasitoid, but it looked like it was ovipositing in a mealybug.

#Proctotrupomorph #Chalcid #Pteromalidae #Pachyneurinae #Photography #Nature #Insects #SriLanka #Insects #InsectInteraction

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 5mo ago

I found this winged queen surrounded by dozens of workers at the base of a tree. I wish I would have stayed and watched how this played out. Some workers were threatening while others seemed to be feeding her. After one ant nipped at her, another nipped at that ant. Did the established colony take in this young queen? When I returned a short time later, they were gone? So many questions...

#Formicidae #SriLanka #Ants #Insects #InsectInteraction #Oecophylla #smaragdina #Photography #Nature

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 7mo ago

Spring in #SriLanka brings one of my biggest joys of the island. May I present to you the weaver ants. First, we have a huge queen. Many have green gasters, but this one is solid orange. She has a good start to her brood. These will eventually be her workers that will build her a nest and feed her. You will often find a few founding queens together on one leaf. One of the few species I know of that seem to do better with multiple queens.

#SalticidSunday #Formicidae #Ants #Photography #Nature

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 6mo ago

A super tiny parasitoid wasp investigating some possible host scale insects.

#nature #Photography #Wasp #Insects #Parasitoid #Chalcid #SriLanka #InsectInteraction

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 6mo ago

Since its what mastadon seems to care about, here's an ant. I thought it was a destroyer ant when I was taking its picture, but it is actually a sneaking ant which is closely related. Please correct me if I'm wrong on the ID. This one was on a guava leaf. My flash is dying so I can't get consistent enough light to stack and I've reverted to my thinner diffuser... Taken at ~1:3.5x

#Nature #Photography #Macro #Insects #Ants #Formicidae #Myrmicine #Cardiocondyla #SriLanka

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 13mo ago

Shhh! I'm hiding. This beetle is trying to hide with its hitch hiking friends.

#Nature #Photography #Two-horned #Powder-post #Beetle #Lichenophanes #bicornis #Oklahoma

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@futurebird@sauropods.win https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=48&taxon_id=264674 Their eyes and abdomen are both very destinctive

inaturalist.org

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@futurebird@sauropods.win I almost always recognize the specialist wasps before I see the roaches directly. I often know a building has roaches before stepping a foot inside.

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@sohkamyung@photog.social I only just learned about frog eating mosquitos last summer. How very strange. This is one handsome frog though.

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@mtchl@post.lurk.org Adorable!

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@sohkamyung@photog.social just a couple days ago I saw a troop bringing down a medium sized moth pupae on a smooth painted wall. It was very fascinating. I should have grabbed my camera. The founding Queen I found a couple weeks ago is nowhere to be seen now. I hope she just moved or was adopted by a nearby nest.

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 13mo ago

Replying to

@futurebird@sauropods.win It's even wearing mites over its eyes like jazzy Elton John glasses. Unfortunately the side shot I have is largely out of focus...

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 13mo ago

Replying to

@nev@flipping.rocks Oh, great to know. I'm not sure if I made a listing for them on iNat. Ill have to check.

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Ben S @twizzt@sauropods.win

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@autisticphotographer@mas.to Nice, an ichneumon wasp looking for a caterpillar.

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