This thread seems to have calmed down. But in case anyone is interested.
I tried the Dutch man's technique of a reversed 28mm lens on a D200 with the built in flash for lighting. For various reasons I could not get on with it. It is well worth trying, but maybe my hands are too shaky.
I also tried my Nikon 60mm F2.8 AF lens with tubes to go to nearly twice life size. This was much more successful. See the attachment for a Ringlet Butterfly seen close up. I think the picture is in many respects a success, but I found 2 key points:
1) The lens was so close to the insect that it was almost touching it, and disturbing the nearly vegetation, including the leaf the insect was resting on.
2) Because the lens was so close to the insect, the lens was shading it from daylight, and the built in flash. Hence the lighting is very flat and reduces the impact of the image.
In other words, the image is sharp, but the lighting is poor, and hence the image is a bit dull IMO.
One little success I had was a home made diffuser. I've read the excellent descriptions of home made diffuseres on this site, but I was always concerned that they were not easy to carry in a rucksack, as they look crushable. I had some old Waitrose pudding containers that I use for collecting fungi samples and they looked ideal. They are about 4" across and 2" deep with a pop on top. I filled one with thin crumpled foam sheet (about 1mm thick) and attached it to the front of the built in flash with an elastic band. It turned out to be very effective and it can be carried in a rucksack without risk of damage. And if it falls off the camera onto concrete it will not break or split. If there is a request, I can post a photo of the diffuser. (It is very basic.)
The second attachment is a Burnet moth photographed with a 200mm lens and the built in flash set to provide fill flash, and the diffuser attached. It has helped avoid harsh specular highlights which can be a problem on the moth's wings.
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