Plant hopper

I actually collected images of this moth yesterday but the katydid won the day. I did notice the tic or mite type insect attached towards the rear, but the moth seemed healthy enough. It would move around the stem as I approached, but I was able to chase it back with my finger.

I was surprised to find it again today, in exactly the same position as yesterday, so it is obviously in some trouble with the tic. But, still alive and moving, in fact when I got a bit too bold, it flew off, that was when I was moving in for a macro of the tic. I already had my main batch of images.

Even though the subject was fairly flat and I didn't move in too close, depth of field was still a problem. So today I collected images of the head, center and the tic area and blended them for a more detailed image. I was really struck by the vein structure in the wings. A full three clicks of under exposure to combat the white from being washed out.

Update - not a moth, but a plant hopper - thanks to DawgGal :)

Dave