Category: Butterflies and Moths

Macro Monday

Hannah Keene4 Comments

Look at this absolutely beautiful fellow. Who knew some butterflies had so many fine hairs near their body or such interesting looking eyes – as shown particularly clearly in the second photo! If anyone knows the name of this butterfly, please let me know in the comments.

Also, this is the first day of Fall, or Autumn, depending on your season name preference. I thought both the colors of the butterfly and the colors of the flowers were good choices for the season.

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Images: Hannah Keene 2019

Focusing On How A Butterfly Eats

Hannah Keene8 Comments

A butterfly eats by extending its tongue like structure, called a proboscis, and using it like a straw to suck up liquid food such as nectar. It drinks water the same way. In the second photo, it would appear that the pollen covered proboscis might be headed toward the butterfly’s mouth to be consumed. I even assumed that to be the case. However, when I did some research, I discovered that what is on the outside of the proboscis is immaterial. The butterfly in the second photo is actually finished sucking up the nectar of that particular flower, and is, in fact, coiling its “tongue” back up into the resting position.

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Hannah Keene 2019

 

Posted for Dutch Goes the Photo!’s Tuesday Photo Challenge: Focus.

Macro Monday

Hannah Keene5 Comments
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Butterfly At Rest                           Image: Zebras Child 2019

I don’t actually have a macro lens yet (I’m saving my pennies) so I have to use my 200mm telephoto, then enlarge and crop. (The image would have been clearer if I had a macro lens.) As a result, I didn’t even know I had captured this beauty. I thought I was just taking a picture of a beautiful flower that I could enlarge to show the detail. As I was looking at this photo in my iPhoto library, I noticed something was sitting on the bottom portion of the flower. I wasn’t even sure what it was at first because I was just browsing thumbnails. I clicked on the photo to see what I could do with it – whether or not I could edit it into a usable photo and voilà! C’est merveilleux! And an unexpected grace.

*This, by the way, is a butterfly, not a moth. You can tell by looking at three things.

  • The antennae are smooth, not hairy or feathery looking.
  • The butterfly is resting with the wings up. Moths generally rest with their wings spread out flat.
  • This picture was taken during the day. Moths come out at night.