Photo of the week: Too many dependents

  You think you’re carrying a load?  Check out this tomato hornworm (aka a sphinx moth caterpillar).  It bears a bunch of parasitic wasp pupae cocoons that are attached to it.  We wonder if the IRS will accept them as dependents on a tax return.  The photo was taken by noted nature photographer Carl Boast at Smith Mountain Lake July 9.  Carl, who is a retired neuroscientist, got the shot using a Nikon D300S digital SLR at f10 1/400 ISO 3200 with the macro setting on a 28-80 mm lens.  Well done, Sir. 

Carl Boast