lucillia coeruleiviridis (Blow-fly) on saxifrage umbrosa

Blow-fly/Lucillia Coeruleiviridis gathering pollen on small saxifrage umbrosa flower. The photographer toiled for '4' hours sitting very still in grass whilst suffering countless insect bites and cramping just as the shot was perfected. The equipment was hand held as a tripod would have cast shadows and hampered the fluidity of capturing the fly moving around the plant. The ring flash was used as an extra measure to counteract the fly's movement in capture and highlight the translucency of the wings and body colouring. The image was created to demonstrate that insects such as blow-fly's gather pollen and can assist in germination of plants, highlighting the intricacies of entomology and how insects such as flies have their roles to fulfil. This image is from a series called 'the day in a life of a blow fly' pollen gatherer which shows the fly actually travelling across the plants in a manner such as a bee would. Immunologists can use this image to demonstrate that flies also carry pollen which deposit in human habitats and cause hay fever. Originally photographed as the photographer specialises in macro photography of plants and insects for immunologists. MACRO Photography: Using SIGMA 105mm 1:2.8 MACRO HSM lens, SIGMA EM 140 ring flash as fill 2:1 magnification.