Black garden ant

This is the ant Lasius niger which is very common, it is found all over Europe as well as in Asia. The vicious looking mandibles are used for chomping on small insects and spiders, this species also milks aphids for honeydew as well eating fruit.

The head is about 1mm across and the total length of the ant is 3.5mm.
This image is a stack of 120 photos which were taken with a Nikon M plan 10/0.25 objective on bellows. This is my first attempt at photographing an insect at this magnification and I found minimizing vibrations to be very difficult. I think I am going to try using a more solid base for my next try.

Lasius niger

Sorus

This photo is of a sorus on the bottom of a fern leaf. A sorus is a cluster of sporongia, these structures produce spores which are dispersed and grow into new plants. Stomata are also visible on the leaf surface.

This is a stack of 82 images, taken with my Nikon D300 using a Nikon M Plan 10/0.25 objective on bellows. The sorus is about 1mm across.

Daffodil

'Green' shield bug

This is a green shield bug that I found sunbathing on some ivy, after coming out of hibernation. Around November the bodies change colour from a bright green to this bronzy brown, this provides good camouflage amongst the leaf litter during late Autumn and Winter.

This image was taken with a reversed 50mm f/2.8 EL-Nikkor on bellows.

Palomena prasina

Crocus stigma and style

Juniper shield bug

Cyphostethus tristriatus

Crocus anther

This photo is a stack of 44 images, taken with a reversed nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens on bellows.