When your camera lies

I photograph most of my insect observations with an iPhone X with an attached macro lens. if the insects are really tiny, I know they are camera shy or from a distance Im not even sure Im looking at a living organism I turn on Live photos. (I could fill an album with shots of poo, seeds and unidentifiable lumps that look like they are alive or should be)
When looking at a recent live shot in slow motion a section the shot indicated that the insect in question shot some sort of web from its foot and then waved it menacingly at me. Logic dictates that this is impossible and the insect is just touching a web in front of itself thus bringing it into focus but…
I have blown it up, changed contrast every which way, and looked at other shots but can see no trace of a web.(I even returned to the spot and found the leaf it was on) I of course do not have the tech or apps to enhance my blurry pictures but would someone else let me send them the live shot as I can’t post it to iNat? As much as I would love to think my eyes are not deceiving me Im a realist with dodgy eyesight.
cheers

4 Likes

Could it potentially be Embiidina? a “webspinner”?

You can post a GIF. Or link to a video hosted elsewhere (YouTube, Google Drive, etc.).

3 Likes

Spinning webs from feet is not unheard of among insects.

Tarantulas, some flies, Embioptera (webspinners/footspinners), and a few others do.

4 Likes

I thought I had replied to you earlier but obviously not. A video hosted elsewhere, I’ll have to Google that along with how to make/genetate? a GIF
I had been trying to find another, catch it and observe but they hop and vanish so quickly a blurry GIF is a good start. Cheers

One thing I have noticed is that it looks like many of the photos I take from long distance using a newer iPhone model seem to clearly have evidence of AI sharpening and enhancing tools, though it was never as evident on my iPhone X. Assuming yours does use some type of AI enhancement, it could be possible that it created an artifact that was never there in the first place

https://cob.silverchair-cdn.com/cob/content_public/journal/jeb/215/10/10.1242_jeb.069690/3/1749.pdf?Expires=1709341283&Signature=cZr1Bp5nLQrrvRf5aEaJFCEgCMETh3VPHooDcn-EUS8Jcu6wGi8A8RBTrYV27FJfnUFAVJQta0a3r7839Ie9XAQGdfE5hN0XXGJpwdL6Cxy2f1NkYSekmh7YZ6QJbS5pJTm35MqsK1JOzzE4Lr5kDXAj8wr8BGCVpFItLybuBjp3doSF4LSRnCI2t2jrzE6oFexy1h-isDCazPIJ03V~UrQ3kyaZMyBVh44Js4-rMppXHHoUMF6pJxnElrTJ32M0icJzvuD8SZ0DV5GdOzu3TG~Z--scLtPwz5MYvQ92orlpVHKPU0cZCxHVW8F3HUmjffhElrGR6gfQ11R8zNrY7g__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA

Maybe not?

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.