Cuckoo Wasp - Blog Posts
Cuckoo Wasp (Family Chrysididae), taken May 5, 2025, in Georgia, US
I fear my photography career has peaked with this one. I don't think I've ever seen anything so cute in my life. This little lady was simply just sleeping on the stem of a leaf, completely unaware of the fact that I was frantically taking as many pictures of her as possible. In the end, she put out a single antenna to sense me better but never ended up moving, so I'd say my attempt to not disturb her was successful! I had no idea cuckoos slept like this—it's adorable!!! One billion more, please!!
Oh!!! Freaking love these!! The jellybean is excellent, oh my god...
I ended up getting the raynox after we discussed it a little more on the post you made about it! The only time I've ever seen a cuckoo wasp was in New Hampshire, so I don't know if I'll get to try it out on one soon, but I honestly hope not because I have barely figured out how to get a medium-sized bee in focus regularly... I'll probably make a post with some pictures and my thoughts so far soon—I got some really nice ones of a nomad bee and some spiders today :)
I have no idea how you managed to get such nice focus on small things like springtails. I'm guessing it's partially use of flash (I just use the raw flash—no add-on for that yet so I'm avoiding using it with the raynox), but tips are definitely welcome if you're willing to provide any!
i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine
I've gotten some decent quality pics of cuckoo wasps with my clip-on macro lens, but I've never had the opportunity to try with my actual camera, so I have no idea if I'd have the same issue as you guys lol. I both love tiny bugs because they're usually surprisingly beautiful but also hate them because they're so small you need an $800 lens to get good pictures of them...
Here is the cuckoo I've gotten w/ my clip-on lens. They're honestly way darker green up close—it must be how the sun hits them!
i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine