Zeugomantispa minuta – northern green mantidfly. Mr. Denelsbeck writes, "I was delighted to find a northern green mantidfly having only spotted one over a decade previously, and captured this one for a studio session. However, two different lenses captured two different effects from the compound eyes under near-identical conditions and lighting. The left version is with a reversed 28-105 lens at approximately F/16 with a custom softbox on the flash, from a very short distance, while the right is with a 180 mm macro, also at F/16 and the same softbox, but significantly greater working distance. I have not yet determined if the different effects were from the working distance and perhaps diffusion of the lighting (the left version being more diffuse because the softbox was more above the subject and broader in 'source,') or it was a product of the optics of the two lenses - the 28-105 lens was never intended to be used in reverse, and might have suffered from the methods used to reduce chromatic aberration. The right version is much more stunning, but also a bit distracting. My subject was released back where found after the session. Overall body length just 12 mm.
Another optics problem! The submission was by design relatively low in resolution, so I asked for the original and cropped it so as to reveal more information. More below the fold.
Hard to say, but it looks to me like the diffraction pattern of a hexagonal array, probably seen as an image in the “len” formed by the eye (a “len” is half a thin lens). I would have expected it to be rotated by 30°, though, and the colors in the secondary maxima do not look right. Maybe someone else can weigh in.
