Posted by mark on Dec 02 2015 in Insect Photography
I wanted to make a stacked macro today, so I pulled a specimen out of the freezer without looking, figuring I'd work with whatever I got.
![Small Wasp (possibly family Sphecidae.) Ant Queen](https://www.markcassino.com/b2evolution/media/blogs/calarti/2015/15-12-02/.evocache/imgp2165-2305_pd_tm1_tu4_hp.jpg/fit-1280x720.jpg?mtime=1449098585)
Ouch! I winced when I saw how small this one was! Why do I even bother to collect things this size...
So - here it is... When I collected it I thought it was a drone ant with wings intact, but looking at it I think it is actually a wasp, possibly family Sphecidae - thread waisted wasps.It was very small and this portrait was taken at about 8x lifesized. Update: I have since learned that this is indeed a winged ant.
![Small Wasp (Reference Image) Ant Queen](https://www.markcassino.com/b2evolution/media/blogs/calarti/2015/15-12-02/.evocache/imgp3467.jpg/fit-1280x720.jpg?mtime=1449098585)
Pentax K01, K24mm f3.5 reverse mounted on a lot of extension. Here is a reference image of the insect, taken at about 1:1 lifesized: