The thorny beauty

[Prajwal J Ullal]

ID: Machaerotidae(Tube spittle bug)

Came across this beauty right at the start of the trail, perched right at the edge of the split of the plant, almost missing it out for some dust stuck to it. Either because it was early in the morning or it actually wasnt too active, it hardly moved away, as in most of the encounters, and rather gave me a good amount of time to frame it as well as allowed me to get as close as possible. Intriguingly, while capturing this frame, the specimen seemed to be dropping something on its hind end, unsure if taking a dump or laying egg.

EXIF:
Canon 80D
Canon 100m macro + Raynox 250
F/18
Shutterspeed 1/160
ISO 320
Handheld, External flash fired

Location: Nagla trail

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice you got it parallel to the sensor, so the depth of field nearly covering the full body. Is the AF point on the middle part? Any idea what is the nail(?) like part on its back? Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Interesting. What was the time when you clicked this? One needs a keen eye to spot this. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Prajwal J Ullal]

Sir, it was early, around 8 a.m.