Dorset Macro Photography

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Dorset Macro Photography

Macro photography focused on the insects and invertebrates of Dorset. Sharing images and insights.

14/06/2026

'Raspberry Ripple' Thomisus onustus 🩷🤍

The most striking T. onustus I've found so far this year, and the wind dropped just enough yesterday for me to get the portrait shot I was hoping for 😃.

Swipe to the video to see how well camouflaged she is in the heather.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
🔎 OM M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

11/06/2026

A scene I'd been hoping to find after seeing a few male Thomisus onustus on the heath. This male was 'mate guarding' the female, waiting for her final moult so he could ensure he was the successful male. I went back a couple of days later and found a shed skin in the same place but no sign of either spider.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

07/06/2026

A successful if blustery day exploring two sites today looking for Thomisus onustus. By this time last year, I was finding loads of mature females. This year, the heather is later blooming - still only just coming out - and the spiders are similarly behind. I found mainly tiny immature females, several males and only a few mature females like this one. I also found a male 'mate guarding' a female which is something I'd been hoping to find, so hope those photos come out OK 🤞

Sorry-not-sorry in advance for the many T onustus shots over the coming months - they're a bit of an obsession 😂

Single shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

06/06/2026

A recent back garden find. Very recently hatched Shieldbug eggs - there's even a few that haven't hatched yet. I love the perfect flip-top lids on the eggs that have hatched.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
🔎 OM M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

03/06/2026

Gusty conditions and a nervous subject meant I had to capture this scene with a single shot. Nursery Web Spiders are great to see with their egg sacs, but they rarely let you get too close.

Pisaura mirabilis

Single shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

02/06/2026

➡️➡️swipe for the details➡️➡️

A Fleabane Tortoise Beetle (Cassida murraea) larva showing off its 'faecal shield'. These larvae create a canopy constructed from their shed skins and own excrement. It's normally folded over their backs, a bit like an umbrella, but this one had it fanned out behind like a peacock's tail.
It's apparently a form of disguise, although I think it makes them easier to spot.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
🔎 OM M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

30/05/2026

Out at 4.30 this morning in the hope of finding some chill damselflies. I did find plenty, but they were far from sleepy - I think it was too warm and I was a bit late. So, there are no damselfly shots today, but I did find some other subjects, including a couple of these cool little Robber Flies (Leptogaster cylindrica) 😁.

It's my first time seeing this species and I love the way they cling onto the stem tops. A lot of the other stems had split and twisted ends, so they were actually fairly well camouflaged.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

25/05/2026

An early morning Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) sat on her Oxeye Daisy perch and waiting for the airborne insects to start their daily foraging.
🌸☠️

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

23/05/2026

What a difference a bit of sun makes 🌞. It's been a slow start to the season here but yesterday's warmth and sunshine woke everything up 😃.

Here's a Cantharis rustica from yesterday evening, one of about 40 species of Soldier Beetle in the UK.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

20/05/2026

A teneral damselfly I found emerging from my garden pond despite the cool and breezy conditions today.

Look for these guys on upright pond plants early in the morning on warm days. The nymphs climb out of the water and up plant stems before shedding their skin and emerging as a damselfly. It's fascinating to watch if you get the chance.

Teneral is the term used to describe a recently moulted insect. Damselfly that have just emerged from their aquatic form, and shed the nymph stage skin, are soft and unable to fly until their exoskeleton hardens. They are also typically pale in colour with their full colouration developing over several hours.

Stacked shot
📷 OM System OM1 mkii
🔭 OM M.Zuiko 90mm macro
🔎 OM M.Zuiko MC-20 teleconverter
⚡️ Godox 860iii
⚪️

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