u/NanzaDK

Shot this worker on a woodpile in Brodski Stupnik, Croatia. Two frames of the same individual — head-on first, then full profile showing the characteristic heart-shaped waist and gaster tilt.

Shot this worker on a woodpile in Brodski Stupnik, Croatia. Two frames of the same individual — head-on first, then full profile showing the characteristic heart-shaped waist and gaster tilt.

Shot this worker on a woodpile in Brodski Stupnik, Croatia. Two frames of the same individual — head-on first, then full profile showing the characteristic heart-shaped waist and gaster tilt.

Shot this worker on a woodpile in Brodski Stupnik, Croatia. Two frames of the same individual — head-on first, then full profile showing the characteristic heart-shaped waist and gaster tilt.

Shot this worker on a woodpile in Brodski Stupnik, Croatia. Two frames of the same individual — head-on first, then full profile showing the characteristic heart-shaped waist and gaster tilt.

I was crouched over a woodpile in Croatia, flash kit ready, waiting
for a moment that almost never comes with ants 🐜

This one was moving fast — antennae working the air, mandibles ahead,
purpose in every step. The head-on moment came and went in under a second.
A fraction of that was sharp. That fraction became the first shot 🌞

Two frames. Same individual. The face — and the posture that gave it
its name. That heart-shaped gaster, tilted upward. That's the "cocktail":
when alarmed, Crematogaster aims it like a weapon, releasing chemical
signals that mobilise the whole colony in seconds.

You don't stalk ants. You follow them, adjust your settings, and hope
the light holds.

🌿✨ Slow down, look closer – nature is waiting 💚🍂

🐜 Subject: Cocktail Ant (Crematogaster scutellaris)
📸 Camera: OM System OM-1
⚪️ Lens: M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO
🔍 Teleconverter: MC-20
⚡️ Flash: Godox V860iii
⬜️ Diffuser: Cygnustech
✋🏻 Shot: Handheld
🔢 ISO: 200
🌫 Aperture: f/13
⏱ Speed: 1/100
📍 Location: Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

Found this on a woodpile in Croatia — not that small, and absolutely no interest in staying still. Over logs, under bark, gone.

Up close the pronotum is covered in dense golden hairs radiating outward across a dark blue-black surface, next to those vivid orange elytra.

If a click beetle ends up on its back, it arches its body and releases a hinge mechanism between the pro- and mesothorax — launching itself into the air with an audible click. A built-in self-righting system.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/14 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

All photos are my own original content.

Found this on a woodpile in Croatia — not that small, and absolutely no interest in staying still. Over logs, under bark, gone.

Up close the pronotum is covered in dense golden hairs radiating outward across a dark blue-black surface, next to those vivid orange elytra.

If a click beetle ends up on its back, it arches its body and releases a hinge mechanism between the pro- and mesothorax — launching itself into the air with an audible click. A built-in self-righting system.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/14 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

All photos are my own original content.

Found this on a woodpile in Croatia — not that small, and absolutely no interest in staying still. Over logs, under bark, gone.

Up close the pronotum is covered in dense golden hairs radiating outward across a dark blue-black surface, next to those vivid orange elytra.

If a click beetle ends up on its back, it arches its body and releases a hinge mechanism between the pro- and mesothorax — launching itself into the air with an audible click. A built-in self-righting system.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/14 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

All photos are my own original content.

Found this on a woodpile in Croatia — not that small, and absolutely no interest in staying still. Over logs, under bark, gone.

Up close the pronotum is covered in dense golden hairs radiating outward across a dark blue-black surface, next to those vivid orange elytra.

If a click beetle ends up on its back, it arches its body and releases a hinge mechanism between the pro- and mesothorax — launching itself into the air with an audible click. A built-in self-righting system.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/14 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

All photos are my own original content.

Spotted this on a log in the woodpile — afternoon sun had it at full speed. Ran constantly across the bark, jumped a couple of times. Eye in the viewfinder, look up, look back — somewhere else entirely.

Only realised it was missing one antenna when I saw another one later with two. Didn't seem to affect its speed at all.

The gold-green iridescence is structural coloration — microscopic surface structures interfering with light, same physics as a soap bubble or oil slick.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/10-18 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

Spotted this on a log in the woodpile — afternoon sun had it at full speed. Ran constantly across the bark, jumped a couple of times. Eye in the viewfinder, look up, look back — somewhere else entirely.

Only realised it was missing one antenna when I saw another one later with two. Didn't seem to affect its speed at all.

The gold-green iridescence is structural coloration — microscopic surface structures interfering with light, same physics as a soap bubble or oil slick.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/10-18 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

Spotted this on a log in the woodpile — afternoon sun had it at full speed. Ran constantly across the bark, jumped a couple of times. Eye in the viewfinder, look up, look back — somewhere else entirely.

Only realised it was missing one antenna when I saw another one later with two. Didn't seem to affect its speed at all.

The gold-green iridescence is structural coloration — microscopic surface structures interfering with light, same physics as a soap bubble or oil slick.

OM System OM-1 | M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO | M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20 | Godox V860iii | f/10 | ISO 200 | 1/100 | Handheld

Brodski Stupnik, Croatia

The lamp mounted in the ceiling of the farmyard gate draws insects in overnight — so every morning it's worth a look.

This time, low on the white wall, there it was. Up close, what looks like a plain brown shield turns into something else entirely. The marbled texture. The banded legs and antennae. And those two small red dots just behind the eyes — ocelli, primitive light-sensing organs that don't form images like the compound eyes do, but help the bug orient itself to light and darkness.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) originally comes from East Asia — arriving in Europe and North America as a stowaway in cargo shipments. It's now one of the most widespread invasive insects on the planet. And one of the most underappreciated, visually. 🌍✨

🌿✨ Slow down, look closer – nature is waiting 💚🍂

🛡️ Subject: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys)

📸 Camera: OM System OM-1

⚪️ Lens: M.Zuiko 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO

🔍 Teleconverter: M.Zuiko Digital 2x MC-20

⚡️ Flash: Godox V860iii

⬜️ Diffuser: Cygnustech

🧩 Stack: 11 images

✋🏻 Shot: Handheld

🔢 ISO: 200

🌫 Aperture: f/7.1

⏱ Speed: 1/100

📍 Location: Donja Bebrina, Croatia