I was practising with my new macro lens on this bottlebrush or callistemon flower in the garden when a tiny fly decided to join the party. I often don’t notice the bugs until I start focusing on the flowers with my camera – perhaps I need to wear my glasses when I want to look specifically for small insects. I am impressed with the macro lens (Nikon 105mm), although I did get good results with the 60 mm (just need to be that bit closer).
Bee on red callistemon
Burchardia congest (milkmaid) with shiny insect
Native wisteria and bee
Bold Park dragonfly
With the bigger insects, like bees and dragonflies, I usually do see them unaided – of course, getting sharp shots is still a bit of a challenge. My real bugbear is butterflies – every time I try to focus they flit away – but I did manage one decent butterfly image this year. Sometimes I think I should stick to the big slow caterpillars!
Butterfly on melaleuca flower
Vine hawk moth caterpillar
Some of these images are in one of my Redbubble calendars for 2015.
Nature in Focus 
Beautiful macros. I had a pair of binoculars once that had a very close focusing distance. That made them great for checking out macro possibilities before deciding to set up, or having to get down on hands and knees. Sorry I lost those! There are very few binocs. that will focus that close.