Macro: Is That a Camouflaged Looper?

I was out in my garden one morning checking over the plants and noticed something moving at the top of one of my Liatris stalks. After a little web research, I believe it is a Camouflaged Looper, one of my favorite finds. It was so well disguised that I almost missed it. Not only that, but I thought it was some kind of caterpillar. It is actually an inch worm.

Camouflaged Looper on Liatris | Sony a7 III | 85mm | ISO 400 | f/5 | 1/30

Why love the looper? It's constantly changing its appearance. The name Camouflaged Looper comes from the fact that this wormy will grab little bits and pieces of the plant it is feeding on and then attaches them to it's body to hide from predators. The first day I spotted it, I thought it was a winged insect becasue of the way it had dressed itself, as you can see below.

The camouflaged looper also gave me a slow moving subject to work with, so I've been capturing it with multiple lenses over the course of a few days. Every morning I would go out to look for it and there is was, somewhere on that same liatris stalk, but with a different outfit on. Fashion photography here I come! The picture shown above (Day 2 shots) and the one below (Day 1 shots) were both shot on a Sony a7 III with a Sigma 85mm f1.4 lens.

Camouflaged Looper on Liatris | Sony a7 III | 85mm | ISO 100 | f/2.2 | 1/125

The difference between Day 1 and 2 was practice and taking time to set up before shooting. I just didn't have it on Day 1. The focus isn't honed it, but I wanted to share it so you could see how drastically different this inch worm appears from one day to the next.

That brings me to macrophotography. I am hooked. What a difference a macro lens makes! The below is our looper once again, but this time its moved into the next stage of life and is tucked away in this tiny liatris fortress. I shot this on a Sony a7 III with a Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro Lens. The level of detail this lens is capable of is incredible.

Camouflaged Looper Cocoon on Liatris | Sony a7 III | 105mm | ISO 200 | f/8 | 1/200

I feel like a scientist with a microscope. Taking a macro photo and seeing it through your viewfinder is one thing, but looking at it in post is like opening the door to a new level of understanding about the world. Everthing is more complex and wonderous under magnification and in post you can crop in to reveal things your naked eye is missing.

I can't wait to share more of my macro discoveries with you and I hope I get the chance to spot the Wavy Lined Emerald Moth this looper will become. Nature is just full of interesting surprises.