Chasing after water striders

This weekend I managed to negotiate a short period of time to take a trip to Mercer Slough, which is a park not far from where we live.  I had grown a little tired of seeking out insects around the home, so I decided to see what I could find there.  In particular, I was interested in the park because it has water habitats that our property lacks.

Of course, the advantage of photographing around my house is I know where to find everything.  In a park as large as Mercer Slough it was a bit trickier.  At first I was a bit discouraged, but then I spent some time looking through soil - where it is almost impossible not to find something.  Sure enough, I found this little thing with minimal effort.

It’s some type of centipede, but other than that I have no idea.  Centipedes are not covered very well in my books.  It was quite tiny and not particularly fast moving.  I moved on from the soil after a few minutes, as I was on a time deadline to get back to the house.  I decided to see what I could find in the still water by the trail.  Within a few minutes I noticed the water seem to “jump” and I knew I had found water striders.

I suspect when I finally order the Canon 180mm 3.5L that these critters will be much easier to photograph.  With the MP-E 65, they can be quite a challenge.  The main challenge is I need to get quite close to them, which means they need to get close enough to shore for me to lean out.  I stayed there for most of my stay, leaning in the mud motionless, hoping one would get close enough.  They seemed to tease me, getting close to shore but far enough away from me that I couldn’t reach.  It was quite frustrating, and I was about to give up when one decided to do me a favor.

I always got a kick out of these bugs as a child, as it is quite impressive how they balance themselves on the water.  After finally getting some shots off, I found some decayed leaves and took a few shots of the patterns.

All in all, though the trip was brief, it was nice to get the chance to get out and photograph some new things.

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