BLUE MORMON

Photo Information

(18516)

Genre: Animals

Medium: Color

Date Taken: 2008-10-27

Categories: Insects

Camera: Canon EOS 400D, EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Exposure: f/5.6, 1/80 seconds

More Photo Info: [view]

Photo Version: Original Version

Theme(s): My favourite naturescapes [view contributor(s)]

Date Submitted: 2009-02-04 3:04

Viewed: 1275

Favorites: 2 [view]

Points: 88

[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note

Today I present this beautiful and huge butterfly - the Blue Mormon. Catching this butterfly on camera was my dream and I was delighted that day to have finally captured it. It was a chance sighting, rather I stumbled on it. The light was poor and vanishing even faster, I was going crazy because the shots weren't coming out satisfactory, click...click...click...damn, finally higher ISO and steady hands helped me take this shot. Hope everyone like it.

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The Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in South India and Sri Lanka.

Males have the upper wings rich velvety black. The fore wing has a postdiscal band composed of internervular broad blue streaks gradually shortened and obsolescent anteriorly, not extended beyond interspace 6. The hindwing has the terminal three-fourths beyond a line crossing the apical third of the cell pale blue, or greyish blue, with superposed postdiscal, subterminal and terminal series of black spots—the postdiscal spots elongate, inwardly conical; the subterminal oval, placed in the interspaces, the terminal irregular, placed along the apices of the veins and anteriorly coalescing more or less with the subterminal spots.

The underside is black with and on the base of the cell in the fore wing is an elongate spot of dark red; the postdiscal transverse series of streaks as on the upperside but grey tinged with ochraceous and extended right up to the costa; in some specimens similar but narrow streaks also in the cell. Hind wing with five irregular small patches of red at base, the outer three-fourths of the wing grey touched with ochraceous, but generally narrower than the blue on the upperside; the inner margin of the grey area crosses the wing beyond the cell; the post-discal and subterminal black spots as on the upperside. In some specimens this grey area is greatly restricted, its inner margin crossing the wing well beyond the apex of the cell; the subterminal spots merged completely with the terminal spots and form a comparatively broad terminal black band. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen blackish brown.

Females are very similar but the inter-nervular streaks on the fore wing paler, extended into the cell both on the upper and undersides. Hind wing: the pale blue area on the upperside and the corresponding grey area on the underside paler. In some specimens there is a diffuse short crimson streak at the base of the cell of the fore wing on the upperside.

Endemic to India and Sri Lanka. In India it is restricted to the Western Ghats, Southern India and the East coast. It has been recorded as far north as Gujarat. It is often seen even in the gardens and sometimes in the middle of busy traffic in large cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. Wynter-Blyth recorded it in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Sikkim.

Not uncommon. Occurs throughout the year but more common in the monsoon and immediately after it. The butterfly is most common in heavy rainfall areas, such as evergreen forests. Also common in deciduous forests and wooded urban areas, primarily due to the cultivation of its host plants, i.e. the Citrus species.

Frequents forest paths and streams. The male is fond of sun and avoids the shade. It frequents flowers especially of Mussaenda frondosa, Ixora coccinea, Jasminum spp. and Asystasia gangetica. Periodically raids thicker forest patches, especially where Atalantia spp. are to be found in search of females to mate with. Has a rapid unidirectional flight and frequently changes course, hopping up and down in its flight path. Difficult to catch. Known to bask in the sun. Attracted to damp patch and has greater tolerance to other butterflies and humans while lapping up the mineral rich moisture. Known to visit animal droppings.

Scientific classification -
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. polymnestor

Hormon_Manyer, peter_stoeckl, siggi, Heaven, livius, pankajbajpai, ramthakur, uleko, Morigann, haraprasan, adilakbar, Alex99, eng55, jaycee, Noisette, MMM, boreocypriensis, matatur, Argus, maurydv, flashpoint, valy67, vanderschelden, CeltickRanger has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

LordPotty (12035)
[2009-02-04 3:13]

Hi Sumon,
What an incredibly beautiful species!
The shape and patterns on this butterfly are stunning,and you have captured it beautifully.
Marvellous work.
Cheers & TFS
Steve

Macroleo (864)
[2009-02-04 3:13]

Hello Sumon,
what a beautiful picture with Blue Mormon! I like composition, details and colours!

Best regards, Leonid

siggi (16040)
[2009-02-04 3:13]

Hello Sumon,
Great capture of this gorgeous specimen! Very good your POV
and the clear details got on that wings. Lighting and colours are just great!
Best regards Siggi

vral (1049)
[2009-02-04 3:16]

Hello Sumon,

Fantastic macro of this Blue Mormon with colors and details. I like the blue and the red which are distinct and optimum.
POv and composition are too good.
Thanks for sharing
vral

zetu (6115)
[2009-02-04 3:17]

Hello Sumon
Wonderful capture, good details and beautiful colors.
Regards.
Razvan

Heaven (6010)
[2009-02-04 3:19]

Hi Sumon!

Yes, I do like it, even very much. The butterfly is as impressive as beautiful. And I personally don't believe that your picture lacks of lighting or any other technical aspect. At the contrary, the colours of the insect suit an indirect light as it occurs under poor light conditions very well. Sometimes the direct sunshine creates too harsh contrasts. I also like your notes, especially the narrative part.

Kind regards

Markus

livius (1165)
[2009-02-04 3:29]

Hello Sumon
the butterfly is perfectly in focusing on a background very neutral that very puts in prominence the depth of the photo. Optimal contrast and clear details with different tonalities.
Livio

pankajbajpai (16507)
[2009-02-04 3:58]

hello sumon,
nice to see you back with this fine capture of blue mormon which i too have posted here, its a pleasure shooting this huge butterfly, i liked the pose the composition and the details , you managed with fine results inspite of tough conditions,
well done,
tfs & regards
pankaj

ramthakur (32108)
[2009-02-04 4:19]

Sumon, I'm scared of the camera settings you used for this shot, and that too hand-held. It is a sheer marvel, my friend. Congratulations!
I have never seen a picture clearer than this one.
Look at that shade of light grey at the bottom end on this butterfly's open wings!
And that totally blurred BG couldn't be better.
Thanks for this beauty and best regards.
Ram

uleko (2687)
[2009-02-04 4:30]

Hello Sumon,
What a fantastic and sharp view of this wonderful butterfly!! It really stands out from the background and details are crispy clear! Beautiful colours too and very well composed.
Many thanks and best wishes, Ulla

claudine (0)
[2009-02-04 5:24]

What a beauty! This is a flying flower! You captured superb details in excellent POV, exposure and composition. This is one of the nicest butterflies I have ever seen. Congratulations!
Claudine

PeterZ (17432)
[2009-02-04 5:28]

Hello Sumon,
What a fantastic clear photo is this. Light, colours and DOF are really perfect. Great sharpness and details. The cotrasts are very beautiful. Excellent POV and composition.
Regards,
Peter

nagraj (4846)
[2009-02-04 6:05]

hi sumon,
glorious and spectacular blue mormon captured beautifully with all the details and colors. good thing is that this one is spreading its wings for you to see and enjoy, ofcourse we too. no wonder you would have exited to see and capture one like this, i know the excitement. tfs.
nagraj.v

euroblinkie (9889)
[2009-02-04 6:30]

hello Sumon
beautiful picture
super colours and the sharpness is very good
greeting lou

fragman (17545)
[2009-02-04 6:55]

great close up, TFS Ori

Morigann (100)
[2009-02-04 8:39]

Hello Sumon,
Amazing species, so beautiful.
You have captured it so greatly, with very fine details.
Perfect POV, and nice composition.
Well donne
Regards
Pierre

wishnugaruda (16494)
[2009-02-04 9:43]

A perfect shot of a perfect butterfly.
It's wonderful, so sharp, so pretty details, thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

haraprasan (17792)
[2009-02-04 10:00]

Hi Sumon Da,
Thank you for posting this beauty. Happy to see you here back and posting. Superb sharp details and a lovely composition. Thanks a lot for sharing.

adilakbar (590)
[2009-02-04 10:26]

Namaste Sumon,
Beautiful macro of beautiful butterfly. Good DOF and sharpness. With wings wide spread displaying all it's colors and pattern.
Well done. Cheers - Adil.

Alex99 (18529)
[2009-02-04 11:08]

Hi Sumon.
What a beauty you have met and managed to picture with such great quality. Incredible details of the butterfly and POV cannot be better. We can see all features of this amazing specimen. Surroundings, their delicate colours and blurriness are wonderful too and correspond with image of the butterfly perfectly. Thanks for next masterpiece from you. Bravo.
Alexei.

eng55 (3430)
[2009-02-04 11:51]

Hi Sumon,
Magnificent macro shot.POV,clear details,lighting,exposure and composition are excellent.
Thanks for posting.

jaycee (21912)
[2009-02-04 12:46]

Hi Sumon,

This Blue Mormon is spectacular - I would love to see one of these. A perfect open-winged position to show off its elegance. The black and silver with just the touch of red is stunning. Excellent details - lovely setting - superb composition.

Jane

septimiu_nemes (2159)
[2009-02-04 12:51]

wow , very beautiful presentation of this butterfly Sumon !
wonderful colours and fine details , perfect sharp and nice DOF ,
great POV !
TFS,
septimiu

Silvio2006 (41112)
[2009-02-04 12:59]

Ciao Sumon, elegant butterfly with fantastic colors, splendid sharpness and fine details, great macro, very well done, ciao Silvio

batu (13316)
[2009-02-04 13:15]

Hello Sumon,
you achieved a beautiful and very sharp picture of this large swallowtail butterfly.
The light blue hindwing colour is well reproduced. Furthermore, I like to see the detailed
wing surface structure.
Best wishes, Peter

Noisette (3905)
[2009-02-04 14:19]

Hello Sumon
What a beautiful butterfly, I like his colors and the shape of this wings
great pose with the wings wide open showing us his beautiful markings
very well done
Jacqueline

MMM (8901)
[2009-02-04 17:44]

Hi Sumon
Another great composition.Excellent POV and very sharp image.Details and color are outstanding.Excellent light controlGood text to.
TFS Michel

boreocypriensis (33523)
[2009-02-04 21:24]

Hi Sumon! Good Morning!
An excellent macro capture of this beAUTY from dorsal pov with great details and sharpnes as weel as nice composition.
TFS and cheers,
Bayram

matatur (4466)
[2009-02-05 4:57]

Congratulations on this fine capture Sumon, the vertical POV perfectly demonstrates the b.flys beautiful form and symmetry in this sharp image. TFS it indeed my friend.
Cheers,
Mehmet

Argus (34839)
[2009-02-05 8:30]

Hello Sumon,
What a great catch!
A superb portrait of a Blue Mormon taken from a great POV to show the upperside of the wings with fine sharpness and lighting against apleasing OOF natural BG.
As most of these Papilionids spend most of their time flying and fluttering this capture ís a fine achievment and that it is a fresh specimen makes it all the better!
Thanks for delighting us with this fine image,
Best wishes,
Ivan

maurydv (16298)
[2009-02-06 6:29]

Hi Sumon,
what a fantastic picture of Blue Mormon taken from a perfect POV with outstanding sharpness in a very lovely composition, the colour tones are marvellous.
TFS. Best regards.
Maurizio

gannu (14691)
[2009-02-06 6:53]

Hello Sumonda, big one and really a big one. Great shot. What a beautiful color and lovely large butterfly Ganesh

flashpoint (10269)
[2009-02-06 6:58]

simple perfect in his elegant black-white livery....excellent capture Sumon

best sERGIO

jignasi (14617)
[2009-02-06 8:33]

Realmente impresinante lo bien que captaste la belleza de esta mariposa Sumon. Como siempre, sana envidia de vuestra tierra que os permite tomar fotografías de insectos todo el año. Aquí en invierno no hay nada y hay que publicar fotografías de los archivos.
Bonito tu nuevo look !!! jajaja.
Un abrazo: Josep Ignasi.

valy67 (8733)
[2009-02-07 23:39]

Hello Sumon !
Wow, this is an amzing picture ! The butterfly is wonderful, I love the shape and markings on his wings (specially the hind wings). You managed to capture excellent details on the butterfly, and the pose is fantastic, with the wings wide open. Natural colors, beautiful blured BG, excellent POV. Very well done !
Valérie.

vanderschelden (30145)
[2009-02-09 10:49]

Hello Sumon,
Very beautiful butterfly you show us here, Sumon.
I think huge butterflies are often not so delicate and subtle as their smaller in size counterparts.
This one is definitely an exception, mainly through the colors and tones in the wings.
Nicely photographed.
Thanks for sharing.
Annick

CeltickRanger (15018)
[2009-02-09 16:38]

hello Sumon

WOW ! what a very beautiful butterfly you are presenting us,
shot with a very fine POV the butterfly from his back,
superb focus on it, wonderflu blurred background,
and i love that 2 leafs are in focus (even blurred)
it gives a fine DOF to the image, sharpness and details
of the butterfly are excellent, TFS

Asbed

Wolfpower (972)
[2009-02-09 19:13]

Hello Sumon

A beautiful butterfly.The open wing pose is super.
Wonderful detail and colours.
The POV is excellent.
Great job.
TFS

Wolf

lorendubois (5465)
[2009-02-10 11:31]

Bravo bravo
Exceptionnel..............
merci
Laurent

peter_stoeckl (10217)
[2009-02-24 9:21]

Hello Sumon,
very powerful and elegant presentation. Those drab colours of wings look so noble and peacefully majestic in the dim light. A masterpiece of composition and description.
Thank you! With best regards,
Peter

zumoduvas (2427)
[2009-03-04 13:15]

Hello Sumon.

Excellent image, nice composition and colors.

Regards.
Jose Luis.

Hormon_Manyer (2650)
[2009-03-14 8:34]

Hi Sumon,
This is absolutely beautiful! Great sharpness and details on this unique tropical butterfly, nice colors and blurry background. Really a fantastic specie - and a fantastic photo, too. I can't wait to have our local winter over and to get into the nature again with serious chance of photographing fungi and butterflies. Until it happens, I admire Your marvellous work. Tfs.
Have a nice weekend, László

foozi (9021)
[2009-03-15 5:14]

Hi Sumon,
this a perfect one. real lovely and very captivating indeed.
superbs colour and excellent pose.
Well composed and splendid piece of art.

regards,
Foozi

Christopher_PL (2615)
[2009-06-09 0:14]

Hello Sumon,
Always when I'm looking at the tropical butterflies I'm sad that I'm not living there ;-)
Nice composition, colours, thanks

Chris

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