Small Tortoiseshell Photo

Photographer’s Note

Wing span: 1 15/16 - 2 3/8 inches (5 - 6 cm).
Identification: Upperside of forewing has alternating 4-sided black and yellow patches along the leading edge; hindwing has an irregular black patch.
Life history: In the afternoon, males perch on hillsides, banks of gulches, logs, or behind bushes to watch for females. Eggs are laid in large batches on the underside of host plant leaves. Young caterpillars feed together in a web, while older ones feed alone and make shelters of folded leaves tied with silk. Adults hibernate, sometimes in small groups.
Flight: One to three broods from March-October.
Caterpillar hosts: Nettles (Urticaceae family).
Adult food: Flower nectar, including that of butterfly bush (Buddleia).
Habitat: Gardens and weedy areas; migrates to high mountains.
Range: Eurasia from western Europe across Russia to the Pacific Coast. Has strayed twice to New York.
Treatment: Crop, contrast +10, saturation +10, USM and resize.

RobBrown, elroyie, kikvel, Jeppe, Burnham, gbac, mogens-j has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

nialap (589) 2004-06-02 17:11

Perfect shot ! Great colors, right place in the frame, you've got it !
PS I really start to appreciate this Digital Rebel ;-)

cdewet (0) 2004-06-02 17:30

Quite an awkward angle on the left wing, but the overall image is very pleasing. That purple to lilac lace around the edge of the wing is beautiful.

RobBrown (1789) 2004-06-02 17:34

Not bad Bente the antenae are nice and sharp which is always difficult, near wings a bit soft, its always a problem when shooting across a wide beasty the auto focus likes to chose the body as a solid object where as the the slope of the wing doesnt reflect back as well.
seen the 1st caterpillars this week so the 1st brood is on its way.

elroyie (2750) 2004-06-02 17:50

Very good pictures colours are good and it is very sharp, the bokeh is great, I see that you have very good results with this lens.

wilkinsonsg (8644) 2004-06-02 18:11

Very sharp, great DOF, and a fantastic subject IMHO :)

kikvel (4772) 2004-06-02 20:42

Very nice capture!!! Excellent, very good DOF and really nice colors! :)

rhardy5 (855) 2004-06-02 22:28

nice compo beautiful colors very pleasing photo.

Jeppe (18623) 2004-06-03 3:46

Wonderful capture Bente - can't be done better, Excellent - Congratulation -

lost (694) 2004-06-03 8:22 [Comment]

Show Comment

Burnham (2426) 2004-06-03 8:59

Exellent! Now you just need the one with the orange tipped wings :o) This is very beautifull, and I'm not sure I agree on Rob's point about the wing in the forground, I like it like this, I guess the rules of macro would say that it should be in focus aswell, but it works like this too - somehow it makes the butterfly look bigger. Great capture.

steffleu (1373) 2004-06-03 14:21

Très belle capture ! PDC idéale BravO !!!
Belle netteté et jolies couleurs !

gbac (1931) 2004-06-03 15:24

Superbe macro, la pdc est parfaite, le cadrage très bien et l'image est d'une netteté remarquable.
Bravo Bente

mogens-j (56) 2004-06-03 16:10

Excellent shot Bente - I like the softness on the left wing. Colours are really good here and no damage on the wings - well done. I have been chasing some Pollymatos Icaros (alm. blaafugl) to-day but instead I got a nice portrait in the computer corner.

cyril (2748) 2004-07-19 3:49