A tiny parasitoid wasp takes a break on my hand.

I think you have to be a bit mad to pursue extreme insect/arthropod macro photography. You stalk little tiny creatures that aren’t usually going to sit still, that you keep coming back to, because you know there’s something there, like an elusive answer, even if you can’t quite make it out. It may in fact be biting or pinching you all over…but you just can’t get it into focus. It’s just like a thought you can’t grasp but also can’t let go. It’s bound to drive you a bit mad.

And by “you” I definitely mean “me.” :)

This tiny wasp (I want to guess about 3mm?) isn’t even really an “extreme” macro subject by the lofty standards set around the web (see Eddie the Bugman on Flickr, his springtail images in particular, to understand what I’m talking about!), but it’s quite small nonetheless. And a bit more workable than some subjects I have been tackling lately (more to come on that eventually — I’m dragging on everything lately it seems!). I wish this one stuck around a bit longer, but I like this shot.