Test shots: “Generic Baskettail?”

A larva/nymph in the Family Corduliidae (Emeralds) was collected by Bob Perkins on 02 December 2017 from a pond in Orange Park, Florida (USA). The larva died before it metamorphosed into an adult.

Test shots of this beautifully preserved specimen were taken using a small-ish aperture of f/11 for greater depth of field. The following photos are “one-offs,” that is, not composite images.

Dorsal

A single focus point — located on the thorax (specifcally, the “shoulder pad” along the right side of the body) — was used to shoot this photo. The specimen has enough “relief” that focus on the wing pads and dorsal hooks is slightly soft. This view of the larva is a good candidate for focus-stacking.

The terminal appendages (cerci, epiproct, paraprocts) are shown clearly in the following photo.

“Generic Baskettail” larva (preserved specimen) | Orange Park, FL USA

Bob’s best guess of the identity of the specimen is Epitheca sp., either Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura) or Prince Baskettail (Epitheca princeps).

Whenever I see an odonate larvae/exuviae with long legs, my first thought is Family Macromiidae (Cruisers). Then I check for a horn on top of the head, a key field marker for Cruisers. Look closely at the dorsal view of the larva and I think you’ll agree with me there appears to be a horn on the head. I would like to take close-up photos of the head and key out the specimen in order to determine its identity. In the meantime, my best guess is Stream Cruiser (Didmops transversa) as indicated by the lateral spines on abdominal segment nine (S9) and the absence of a dorsal hook on S10.

Ventral

The ventral side of the specimen has almost no “relief,” so a “one-off” focused on the thorax looks fairly good from head-to-tail.

“Generic Baskettail” larva (preserved specimen) | Orange Park, FL USA

Related Resource: “Generic Baskettail” (definitely not a Cruiser)

Tech Tips

The following equipment (shown below) was used to shoot the preceding photos: Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera; Fujifilm MCEX-16 extension tube; Fujinon XF80mm macro lens; Godox XProF TTL Wireless Flash Trigger for Fujifilm cameras; Godox TT685F Thinklite TTL Flash for Fujifilm Cameras; Godox TT685C Thinklite TTL Flash for Canon Cameras fitted with a Lastolite Ezybox Speed-Lite 2 flash modifier; and a Canon 580EX II Speedlite mounted on a Godox X1R-C TTL Wireless Flash Trigger Receiver for Canon. A new Godox TT685O Thinklite TTL Flash for Olympus/Panasonic Cameras was added to an array of radio-controlled external flash units used to light the specimen. All flashes were set for Manual Mode at 1/128 power.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to spot-heal and sharpen the final output.

Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

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Tags: cerci, Common Baskettail dragonfly, dorsal hooks, epiproct, Epitheca cynosura, Epitheca princeps, Family Corduliidae (Emeralds), larva, nymph, paraprocts, Prince Baskettail dragonfly, terminal appendages