CalevPhoto

Photographing the Earth, one millimeter at a time…
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The adventures of Alfred the aphid

One day while photographing a lady bug laying havoc to a colony of aphids on a rose, I came across the bravest (or perhaps the smartest) aphid I have ever had the chance of meeting. While I tend not to name insects, I have decided to give this one the name of Alfred. While many of Alfred’s friends perished that day, Alfred found a way to escape the jaws of the lady bug. I’m not sure how Alfred came across this. Perhaps his initial inclination was to take a joy ride, but in the end he survived when so many others perished. Here is a photo of where Alfred chose to ‘hide’.

Here Alfred sits on top of the lady bug as it hurried through, gobbling as many of Alfred’s relatives as it can. Unfortunately, Alfred’s best friend Zed was not so lucky.

Here’s a shot of Alfred watching the carnage.

Now it happens that Alfred is one cool aphid – and what cooler thing can an aphid do than lady bug surfing!

Yes, Alfred is truly one daring aphid. You have to hand it to him, even though officially he’s still a pest….

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Posted in Insects and Macro photography 2 years, 1 month ago at 6:15 am.

8 comments

8 Replies

  1. Great writeup and wonderful photos.

    Glad you finally started the blog!

  2. Stunning photos of this Ladybug and Aphids! Also, love your new blog title!

  3. Holy cow! What wonderful photos.

    Something about this reminds me of that movie “Dune”… :)

  4. Enjoyed the adventures of Alfred the Aphid. Nice work!

  5. Lisa at Greenbow Jan 17th 2008

    That Alfred is truly a thrill seeker. You know what happens to them eventually…their insurance is cancelled.

  6. calevphoto Jan 17th 2008

    Thank you for all the kind comments! The funny thing is when I took these shots I didn’t notice the aphid on its back - I was too focused on making sure the lady bug was in focus but was then surprised when I looked at the photos.

  7. These are amazing shots I will give you a link, your work is nice :)

  8. What fun when you find an extra something in a photo, kind of like easter eggs in software or games.


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