u/NanzaDK

This is one of the smallest things I've ever photographed — around half a millimetre. It was on the wall of an electrical cabinet and looked like nothing more than a fleck of dried leaf; I only realised it was an insect when I looked through the macro lens.

An Oak Lace Bug (Corythucha arcuata). The transparent, cell-like hood and wings make it look like lacework or stained glass, shot through with mother-of-pearl iridescence — which is structural colour, not pigment. That lattice also works as camouflage, breaking up its outline so it reads as a dead speck against bark and leaves.

23-frame focus stack. Fourth image has my fingernail in frame for scale.

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
Klakar, Croatia

All photos are my own original content.