A little bit of everything...

Kikihia horologium.

From summer 2 years back; I'll get back to posting a bit more when i've mastered my new printer :-).

Genus Acanthoxyla.
​Sometimes our roses seem to have something eating them aside from possums...not to worry; they're perfectly happy when transfered on to our Pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) trees where they nibble distinctive and harmless half-moon chunks out of the leaves.
I've tried to emphasise their cryptic character here by neither adding flash nor spot-boosting contrast or acuity.
They can be remarkably large, easily spanning a hand's length, so are comfortable insect subjects for shorter focal length (~50mm) macro lenses (particularly on crop sensor Dslr's like my old D200 Nikon).

A couple of shots from last summer to cheer myself up during a cold damp spring.
The big females are just starting to prospect for nest sites on our sunny banks.

It's received photographic wisdom that the middle of the day is a bad time to be out with your camera; you know 'boring high-angled harsh light' etc. But that is the precise time when many photogenic insects are doing their stuff.
Just be careful with your metering as it's quite easy to blow the highlights.

Taken back in the day on our old D70 Nikon with the Sigma 50mm EX DG macro that I had then.
A short-lived Butterfly (only 1 to 2 weeks) and threatened by wasps but we always seem to have a few here when summer heats up.
The Sigma 50mm macro lens I reviewed below is an older version; this modern version is more easily obtained but generally pricier (though still reasonable) on the second-hand market. It's a good lens and often overlooked by prospective purchasers of +/- 50mm macros (on a Nikon there are 40,55&60mm options in this general focal length).
At f7.1 ,as in this shot (from the exif data), any macro lens is likely to be excellent and most difference will be colour rendering and the quality of background transitions.

Fast flying, common and attractive.
It's Wikipedia page is Here.

An active and attractive little bee; I think it's the species above since it's not as flattened and 'bee-like' as the most common Leioproctus genus is supposed to be (I could be mistaken).
Using my 1:2 life-size 90mm Tokina macro lens on the crop-sensor Nikon D300 results in a decent scale within the frame for insects down to around 1cm in length. It also provides sufficient distance from the front element to give plenty of unshaded natural light from all angles and a less disturbing proximity to shy creatures.

This genus of native bees has currently only seven described species.
They are quite tiny and unobtrusive, without typical pollen carrying structures on their legs.
They seem to be abundant here and I've seen plenty of them feeding on Pohutukawa nectar.