fleas
tsmith | June 2, 2011At the new blog Puff the Mutant Dragon, there's a great pair of posts looking at the history of plague, with a focus on outbreaks that have occurred here in the US.
Bubonic Plague in America, Part I: LA Outbreak
Bubonic Plague in America, Part II: Undercover Science
I'll also link them in my Black Plague series.
awild | December 4, 2008
A deer flea hangs from a hair, California
I don't ordinarily hang around animal carcasses. But every now and again I'll brave a fresh roadkill to shoot the parasites as they jump ship from the cooling body. Fleas and lice are fascinating creatures, and as they are hardly ever photographed alive I can capture some unique images just by staking out a common subject that most people would not think to shoot.
photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS D60
ISO 100, f/13, 1/200 sec, flash diffused through tracing paper