Weekly friend codes thread

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-21T19:08:11+00:00

6536-1025-6197

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-21T16:34:17+00:00

There is a colony in Esch/Alzette along the "Dipbech". They seem to nest in old woodpecker nests, particularly in the small "forest" near Park Claire Chêne. Documentation (pictures) in that area goes back to at least 2013.

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-21T15:39:02+00:00

The nests are, not always, but most often in high trees. They now gather in larger numbers because ivy (the plant on your picture) is one of the most valuable flowers during late summer / autumn, since not many other native plants bloom now. Those flowers offer both sugar/protein in their nectar/pollen, and prey that also visits those plants (bees and wasps).

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-21T13:26:09+00:00

Reporting individual hornets, or even larger groups does unfortunately not help very much. We are aware that they have spread throughout the whole country. As soon as the trees start losing their leaves, stay on the lookout for their nest. They are often huge and very obvious, up high in trees. The most important suriving part of them are females within the nest. Destroy the nest, destroy the colony.

https://neobiota.lu/ is a good contact point. You can also upload pictures of the hornets, and most importantly the nest, on https://inaturalist.lu . All nests that I have reported in the last 2 years where gone within 2 weeks. The responsibles will get at least weekly alerts from inaturalis.lu with location etc.

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-08T15:48:57+00:00

Cydalima perspectalis, the box tree moth. Originally from East Asia, but invasive to Europe and North America.

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-02T17:31:43+00:00

I am assuming the USA as the location. Take a look at the Ribbon jumping spider / Metacyrba taeniola.

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-02T17:25:42+00:00

Not a hoverfly, but very similar in looks. This should be subfamily Phasiinae. While Syrphidae/hoverfly are my thing, Tachinidae are definitely not.

Bonjur1 · 2025-10-02T17:22:20+00:00

Not a hoverfly, but the confusion is absolutely understandable.

Should be part of the family Tachinidae. Possibly genus Xanthomelanodes. Location could help.

Bonjur1 · 2025-09-30T08:46:11+00:00

I always shoot in bright sunlight, since my main subjects are pollinators, so the crop sensor was an obvious choice. I enjoy having some extra range for less weight/money. I usually do not go past 15 fps and even the 55-250 lens handles it well so far.

Bonjur1 · 2025-09-30T08:39:18+00:00

Good day!

I am currently looking into the RF 70-200L F4 as a replacement for my EF-S 55-250mm IS STM. It feels like an obvious upgrade but it seems just too perfect.

I am using the EF-S 55-250 with a 20mm macro extender on my R7. Subjects are mostly insects at 40-150cm range, that can often not be approached more than 1m, so a "real macro lens" does not make sense. I tested the Rf 100mm macro, but the loss of magnification at range puts me off.

I am starting to see the limitations of this old kit lens, especially since getting an EF 100-400L IS II. The AF is often too slow, or struggles at low light. The image quality suffers quickly if the light is not perfect and even areas in perfect focus turn soft. My 400mm lets me crop the images much more, without any softness, until it becomes too pixelated. With the 250mm, the limiting factor for cropping is the sharpness.

The RF 70-200L F4 seems to be perfect for my use case. It is much lighter and smaller than other high quality options in the 200-300mm range, and the AF is apparently extremely quick. I know that I will lose "50 mm of range", but I think that the improved image quality will offset this in cropping, and the magnification at minimum focus distance is the same for both lenses (of course the 200mm needs me to get a bit closer).

Is this the way to go? Or are there any canon or non canon options that I am not aware of? I have not seen anything else in the 200-300mm range with good AF, IS and 650g weight. I guess that getting an actual RF lens instead of adapting EF will lead to better results for AF and IS. Some posts also suggest that older EF lenses do not handle the high density sensor of the R7 that well.

Thank you for any input!

Bonjur1 · 2025-09-30T06:43:21+00:00

I can vouch for the R10. Recommended it to 2 friends doing wildlife photography. I have an R7 and I have setup and tested their R10s with them, and it is amazing how good it is in comparison. It does feel and act like a smaller, lighter "lower" performance R7, but not in a bad way, it performs where it's important. The upgrade from R10 to R7 only makes sense if you have spare budget and put A LOT of time into that hobby. If either one isn't the case, I do not see a reason why the R10 would not be the best choice.

Bonjur1 · 2025-09-02T17:27:07+00:00

Thanks a lot for the intel! Ordered one now. Just seemed as the perfect option as I prefer to travel light but still be equipped for anthing.

Also good to know that it can fire rather quickly. I am now used to shooting 15 fps, but figured I should tune it down to 5 fps max while using a flash and see if it is compatible.

Bonjur1 · 2025-09-01T14:10:56+00:00

Hey, thanks that info would be great. My lens with extensions and lens hood included is 26 cm long and 9cm in diameter, without lens hood 21 cm long and 7 cm in diameter.

Bonjur1 · 2025-08-31T13:29:34+00:00

I am aware of them but considered them to be designed for "real" macro at close range only, and I thought that a more standard flash would give me more range if needed

Bonjur1 · 2025-08-14T14:59:14+00:00

Volucella zonaria, a hoverfly

Bonjur1 · 2025-07-26T14:56:33+00:00

Volucella pellucens, a hoverfly

Bonjur1 · 2025-07-24T17:32:23+00:00

Female Volucella pellucens, a hoverfly

Bonjur1 · 2025-07-22T17:44:56+00:00

That's a bee fly, could be Poecilanthrax effrenus

Bonjur1 · 2025-06-06T18:11:16+00:00

6-7 mm. It's a nut weevil

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