Rory Wills

Bronze Ground Beetle - Carabus nemoralis from Vancouver island, BC. This is a pretty striking ground beetle of the family Carabidae. It has some beautiful purple and bronze coloration and is a very common species to find at night during the wet months on Vancouver island. I found this particular one while on a camp trip in the temperate coastal rainforests on the pacific coast of Vancouver island. This species is native to Northern/Central Europe, but has been been introduced to North America in recent past, where it can now be found commonly. These beetles are beneficial predators and have even been used as bio control agents in large scale agricultural operations. I might have shared this photo a while back as part of a larger post on beetles, but I wanted to give it a bit more attention (and also not have to do any editing lol). I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays! #beetle #coleoptera #macrophotography #wildlifephotography #omsystem

A tiger beetle of the genius Cicindela! I found this individual on one of my first outings after moving to Vancouver island. I went for a bug hunt along a sandy coastal beach, not really sure what I would encounter right beside the ocean. It was a very new environment and not something I had at all in Southern Ontario. I was pleasantly surprised at the biodiversity I encountered: various bright jumping spiders, tiger beetles, black widows, and much more. Among them, was this deceptively dull tiger beetle. From the top down it looked grey with white stripes and spots. But when the flash caught it, I was net with beautiful iridescent blues, oranges, and greens! I'm not great with species but based on the geographic location, I think we might be looking at the Western Tiger beetle - Cicindela oregona. Regardless, it's definitely a member of the genius Cicindela which are referred to as the common tiger beetles. Tiger beetles are commonly found in open, sandy habitats with sparse vegetation surrounding bodies of water. They are opportunistic, both scavenging dead insects and actively hunting them out. Typically they are very fast and skittish, making them difficult to photograph. Luckily this one was willing to entertain me! Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ Captive species. _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #earthcapture #natgeoyourshot #macrophotography #wildlifephotography #beetle #coleoptera #vancouverisland #ourplanetdaily

Harpactira pulchripes - The Golden blue-legged baboon spider. This is a species of tarantula native to Makhanda in South Africa. I've unfortunately never visited, but I had the privilege of owning this species when I used to keep tarantulas. The individual in question was quite young when I took this photograph, but as they mature the blue patches on their legs become much brighter and more iridescent. The species name - pulchripes, is derived from the Latin words "pulchri", meaning beautiful and "pes", meaning feet. This spider comes from the continent of Africa and tarantulas from this continent are often referred to as old world spiders. Old world spiders are often known for their medically significant venom and defensive behavior. Oddly enough, despite the fact this species has a significant venom, they tend to be much more skittish over defensive. They make beautiful pets, often hanging out in the open on their elaborate webs. I hope everyone is doing well, it's been.... A while 😅✌️ I feel like I've forgotten how to use Lightroom and Photoshop so excuse the rustyness while I remember how to do this. Drop a comment below or hit me up in the DMs, I'd love to know how everyone is doing! Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ Captive species. _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #earthcapture #natgeoyourshot #macrophotography #wildlifephotography #tarantula #tarantulasofinstagram #ourplanetdaily

Hey everyone, some exciting news! I'm partnering up with @cotton_carrier and had the opportunity to try out their Skout G2 sling-style camera harness for macro photography! I've had my eye on their harness style straps and carriers for a while and was absolutely stoked when they reached out to me. When walking around through the wood with a macro set up, one of my biggest problems has always been smashing my #cygnustechdiffuser around on every single plant or tree I walk past 😂 I've always used a traditional strap and had my camera dangling at my side, which can be a little annoying and bulky with a flash and diffuser set up. Moving my whole camera system to my chest honestly feels so much more comfortable and secure. I'm hoping with this new set up and with the help of the Skout G2, I'll be able to bring my camera with me to many more places I otherwise wouldn't have. One example: I've started to do some multi-day backpacking adventures high up into the alpine. On these trips I've come across many very cool subjects that I wouldn't see anywhere else, but had no opportunity to bring my camera alongside all my bulky backpacking gear. With a chest carrier, this would allow me to securely bring my camera along to new and exciting places and I can't wait to give it a go next summer 🤘 Thanks to @cotton_carrier for the support, it's much appreciated! Swipe through the pics to see a beautiful bee from Vancouver island, alongside some pics of the Skout G2 in action 😎 I'll be putting my affiliate link up on my stories if anybody is interested and wants to try a cotton carrier product for yourself! They have some really cool products on all shapes and sizes to make carrying your camera less of a hassle ✌️

Long time no see ✌️ Hey peeps, it's been a while (that seems to be the case all too often these days) but I figured it's probably time to get the dust off and start posting some macro again. This beauty is a green Lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) photographed in Jaco, Costa Rica. It was my first time seeing a lynx spider (family Oxyopidae) which was totally rad because these spiders are very cool imo. P. viridans is the largest lynx spider in North America, measuring in with a legspan of up to 7cm! They are VERY fast, daytime hunting spiders that hangout on foliage waiting for prey. When photographing this one, I nudged the leaf it was on once or twice and the damn thing basically teleported to a different leaf each time 😂 They range from bright green to more yellowish depending on the plants they are located on and if they are geographically located in an area where autumn occurs. In the latter case, supposedly they will change from green to yellow over the course of the summer to match the changing colors of the foliage! These spiders are considered to be beneficial as they eat many insects that are agricultural pests. They possess venom, but nothing crazy enough to warrant concern from humans :) I hope everyone is doing well, it's been a while since I've been active on IG so feel free to let me know how you're doing in the comments 💕 I've sort of taken a break from macro this summer to focus on other hobbies like hiking and biking. It's also been incredibly dry where I've been living, which hasnt made for a great macro summer. Hopefully now that we've moved into the wetness of winter, I'll be able to get out and find some critters ✌️ Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ Jaco, Costa Rica _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #arthropod_perfection #beautiful_insects_japan #insects_of_our_world #kings_insects #insectguru #macroworld_tr #macro #raw_insects #passion_in_macro #cupoty #soul_made_macro #nuts_about_macro #earthcapture #omsystem #wholelottabugs #raw_insects

Twig mimicking spider! Hey friends, today we have a really neat spider I encountered in Costa Rica. I encountered this spider on my first night walk of the trip, splayed out in its web (image 3/4). I thought it looked quite cool, posted a video on my story, and didn't think too much of it. That was until @cygnustech told me to go back during the day to find it, as it resembles the twig mimic spider of the genus Poltys! I went back to its web the next morning and scoured the area for any signs of this spider. To my amazement, I finally found an odd looking lump on the trunk of the tree. Lo and behold, this awesome spider looked identical to where a broken twig had come off right next to it (image 2). If I hadn't been today to go back, I never in a million years would have noticed this spider during the day! While this spider resembles a Poltys spider, they unfortunately do not have new-world distribution from my understanding. I've been quite stumped (no pun intended) on the ID of this beauty and haven't found many great answers online. My closest guess is the genus Pozonia, which has a couple similar looking spiders. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Thanks for reading, have a great day! ✌️ _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ Jaco, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #arthropod_perfection #beautiful_insects_japan #insects_of_our_world #kings_insects #insectguru #macroworld_tr #macro #raw_insects #passion_in_macro #cupoty #soul_made_macro #nuts_about_macro #earthcapture #omsystem #wholelottabugs #raw_insects #spider #araneidae

Boogeyman 👻 Anyone else getting A nightmare before Christmas vibes from the first shot? 😂 These are a few different swallowtail butterfly (Papilio) caterpillars I found last summer. These caterpillars are really cool and have a few different defenses they utilize against predators. They have false eyes on top of their body combined with a unique organ called an Osmeterium. An Osmeterium is an orange fleshly protrusion (2nd and 3rd pic) that they can retract to look like a snake's tongue. If that wasn't enough, when it's extended it emits a really stinky smell. At earlier instars, these caterpillars commonly mimic bird poop to disguise themselves. All of these defenses are quite effective at scaring off any curious bird that might want to eat them. The final pic shows a final instar/prepupal Papilio caterpillar in the midst of making a cocoon to overwinter in. As they get to this stage they tend to turn darker yellow/orange. Overall, a super cool caterpillar and always a pleasure to come across! Thanks for reading 🤘 Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ Ontario _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #arthropod_perfection #beautiful_insects_japan #insects_of_our_world #kings_insects #insectguru #macroworld_tr #macro #raw_insects #passion_in_macro #cupoty #soul_made_macro #nuts_about_macro #earthcapture #omsystem #wholelottabugs #raw_insects #lepidoptera #papilio

Wanderer 🕷️ Hey all, today we got a post about a neat spider from the neo-tropics. This as far as I'm concerned is a wandering spider of the genus Phoneutria (family Ctenidae). As per usual, ID corrections are welcome! Phoneutria have a pretty bad rap as most spiders in this genus have medically significant venom to humans. They are typically known as "Banana spiders" as they are often found in shipments of commercial bananas. They are typically very aggressive, raising up their front legs into a defensive posture when threatened. For my tarantula owning friends, they behave similar to most old worlds lol. This individual however, was quite docile and allowed me to take this deeper stack of 30 images. Spiders in this genus can grow quite large, with leg spans reaching up to >7" (18cm)!! These spiders are named wandering spiders as they roam the jungles at night looking for prey. During the day they hide in dark places such as termite mounds, bromeliads, banana bunches, or under logs. The venom possessed by these spiders is believed to be even more potent than that of a black widow. While their venom is very strong, cases of needing anti-venom or even death are exceedingly rare. Only ~2-3% of cases where a human has been bit have resulted in the need of anti venom. Fatalities are most common in small children who happen to stumble across these spiders and try to handle them. Regardless, these spiders should be well respected and treated with respect. If you ever happen to get bit, probably best to see a doctor 😂😂 Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 📸 ~ Godox V-350o 🌥️ ~ #Cygnustechdiffuser 📍~ La Selva, Costa Rica 🇨🇷 _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #arthropod_perfection #beautiful_insects_japan #insects_of_our_world #kings_insects #insectguru #macroworld_tr #macro #raw_insects #passion_in_macro #cupoty #soul_made_macro #nuts_about_macro #earthcapture #omsystem #wholelottabugs #raw_insects #costarica #biodiversity #entomology #phoneutria

Been a while since we saw some slime 😉 Hey friends! Finally got around to editing up a slime mold shot from early this spring. This was taken on my first field test using a high magnification set up with my @omsystem.cameras for photographing slime molds. The set up was an Olympus 60mm macro + 26mm extension tubes + Raynox dcr 250 + Olympus MC 14 teleconverter. This was also taken using natural light (sorry @cygnustech 😂) which is odd for me as my #Cygnustechdiffuser pretty much never leaves my camera, haha! I believe this slime mold is Metatrichia vesparium, but maybe a slime expert could confirm for me! This slime mold is sometimes referred to as "wasp nest" slime mold. It is often found on dead wood with a pretty broad distribution across the globe. It's characterized by a black plasmodium that turns deep red prior to fruiting, which can be seen here. The sporocarps are stalked and clustered. Nothing specific is currently known about interactions M. Vesparium and other organisms, but it is commonly known that myxomycetes feed in bacteria, yeasts, and single celled organisms in their plasmodial state! Information taken from IMI descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria No. 1916. Published by Krivomaz et al. 2012. 47 shot stack, done with a tripod! Iso 250, f5.0, 1/30s, bracketing differential of 2. Thanks for reading, have an amazing day! 🖤🖤 _____________________________ 📷 ~ Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II 🔍 ~ Olympus M.Zuiko ED 60mm F/2.8 🌥️ ~ The sun 🌞 📍~ Guelph, Ontario _____________________________ @bbcearth @natgeowild @omsystem.cameras #slimemoldsofinstagram #slimemold #myxomycetes #myxohunting #macronature #biodiversity #Slimemoldspotting #mycology #mycophile #fungilovers #focusstacking # #tinyworlds #earthcapture #mushroomofinstagram #kings_macro #nuts_about_macro #macromood #supermacro_world #macro_world #macrogrammers #macro_secrets #macro_turkey #turklikeben_macro #omsystem #forestfloor #biology #top_macro #macro_highlight #teachersofinstagram

Hey all, @rorymacro here! 👋 I’m sad to say this will be my last post for the @UNbiodiversity takeover. Its been an amazing week sharing my photography with everyone. To finish things off with a bang, we will be exploring the diversity of the Order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies. While many moths and butterflies are truly gorgeous, I personally feel like the caterpillars are the true show stoppers. The adults can be extremely difficult to photograph, making the caterpillars a better option for a macro photographers as long as you can find them! The Lepidoptera is a large order with >180,000 species described across 126 families. This makes up ~10% of all described living organisms. They are easily one of the most recognizable and widespread insect orders across the earth. They are characterized by a few different features: the adults are covered in scales and they have a proboscis. Caterpillars are my favourite because they just look so crazy sometimes compared to their adult forms. Caterpillars are the life stage that eats, and moths/butterflies are the life stage that mates. Since the caterpillars are almost totally defenseless to predation, lots of them have evolved crazy spines or hairs to give them a slight edge against birds. Other have gone a route of displaying bright colors as an aposematic warning to predators that they contain poisonous and some just simply rely on camouflage. In most cases, caterpillars are nocturnal and wait out the dangerous day time to come out at night and feed. Butterflies, like beetles, flies and bees, play an important role in the natural ecosystem as pollinators. Butterflies are day-time active where as moths are night-time active creatures, each providing pollination services to different niches. Many caterpillars can be significant pests as their main food source is almost always live vegetation. Thanks for sticking with me throughout this week, I hope there was something to learn for everyone. This opportunity has been a pleasure to share my work with an audience this large, I welcome anybody who wants to keep learning about insect to come check out my page. Have a wonderful day!

Hey all, @rorymacro here! 👋 The Odonata, an order of insects comprised of the Anisoptera (Dragonflies) and Zygoptera (Damselflies). These insects are masterful predators of both the skies in their adult form, as well as in the water in their larval forms. Their large compound eyes give them some of the most incredibly vision in the entire animal kingdom. Each eye is comprised of thousands of ommatidia, providing them with nearly 360 degrees of vision. They are able to see as many as 30 differ color pigments, they can see in 200 images per second, and they allocate >80% of their brain to their sight. This combined with their agile flying and break-neck speeds of up to 55km/h, they are an aerial predator like no other. Luckily for us, Odonates are nowhere near as large as they were millions of years ago and pose absolutely no threat to use as humans. The largest Odonate, Megaloprepus coerulatus, is a damselfly that has a wing span of 19cm (7.5”) and can be found in marshes across central America. Some dragonflies such as ones in genus Anax (photo 10) can have wing spans up to 15cm (6”). Although these are quite large, its nothing compared to the extinct Paleozoic giant dragonflies whom had wing spans upwards of 70cm (28”). Currently fossils of these of these dragonflies are the largest known insect to have existed on earth. Odonates are a fairly diverse order with ~5900 current described species. Obviously, this is nowhere near the diversity of some other groups we’ve covered so far, but that doesn’t make them any less exciting. They come in all sorts of colors from red, to blue, to pink, to orange, to purple etc.! Males and females are typically sexually dimorphic, adding even more variety to the different colors. Odonate larvae are fully aquatic and are carnivorous predators of small fish, tadpoles, aquatic insect etc. They spend the vast majority of their life underwater, oftentimes up to multiple years in temperate climates, before making the leap to land to complete metamorphosis. Once they molt to their adult form gaining wings and they take over the skies. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Hey all, @rorymacro here! 👋 Here we move onto the order Diptera, the true flies. Similarly, to beetles, this order is immense. Currently >125,000 species have been described, but realistic estimates are closer to >1,000,000 species, most of which are yet to be described. Its often times said if an entomologist were to go to the tropics with a sweep-net in hand, almost ever sweep would bring an undescribed species if they were willing to put in the taxonomic leg work. Diptera are categorized by having only a single pair of wings to fly, instead of the two pairs most other insects possess. The hind wings have instead evolved into a unique mechanosensory organ known as a “haltere” which allows them to preform very advanced flying techniques. One of my favorite aspects of flies is their large compound eyes, which make for amazing photography subjects under a macro lens. These large eyes also play a part in providing them with exceptional flying abilities, allowing them to see a large field of view. Many of my friends on here are familiar with the first photo in this series, a fly that goes by the name Richardia advena. This fly is perhaps the most special fly I have photographed due to there being very few observations. In fact, it was only described in 2015 and there has been a small handful of observations since. Its eyes are stalked and quite unique to the Diptera. Flies have a very significant ecological and human importance. Flies are one of the earliest pollinators of flowering plants and play a huge role globally. Its important to move away from the typically view that only bees are pollinators, as it’s so much more than that! On the other end of the spectrum, flies are the deadliest animals to humans when you consider the transmission of malaria, dengue, west Nile, etc. by mosquitos. With so many species, its no surprise there is such a wide range of ecological niches these critters cover. Since flies are so insanely quick, I don’t have nearly as many photos of them as I would like to. I’ve made a small goal with my photography to put more effort into exploring their diversity via the macro lens. Thanks for reading, enjoy!