Baby cricket

I'm pretty sure that this is a baby (nymph) cricket. It was tiny (only a few millimetres long) and it's sitting on the tip of an olive leaf.

Once the egg hatches, the cricket goes through several moults before it is an adult with wings, which can take a couple of months.

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Here is an adult Austral Ellipsidion Cockroach, just for Paladian, which I found on my native iris, with a few of the very pretty babies on the same plant (also in my blip folio, if you are interested in cockroaches, which I appreciate not everyone is!)

I have a newfound respect for macro photographers who get their shots in focus! I never appreciated how much harder it is with a macro lens - the tiniest of movements sends the thing you want focused out of focus and I find I don't have a very steady hand at all! Maybe it's all in the breathing... or maybe I should drink less coffee... I tried using my tripod, but it's just too cumbersome for insect shots that need an instant response. I tried using the tripod as a monopod, which is a bit better, but not ideal. Does everyone have this problem or is it just me?? I do love the creamy backgrounds you get with the lens, but I need to take a lot of shots to get one in focus! Practise makes perfect, maybe...