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Plains Cupid Blue


Plains Cupid Blue
Photo Information
Copyright: Ram Thakur (ramthakur) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2980 W: 108 N: 7759] (25133)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-07-07
Categories: Insects
Camera: Nikon D200, Sigma 70-300 4-5.6 APO DG MACRO, 58mm UV
Exposure: f/18.0, 1/250 seconds
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2008-07-21 1:53
Viewed: 394
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The Plains Cupid, Edales pandava, is a species of blue butterfly found in India.

Description

Wet-season brood: Male upperside: lavender-blue. Fore wing: costa narrowly, terminal margin more broadly fuscous brown, the latter with in addition an anticiliary black line; cilia light brown transversely traversed close to but not at their bases by a dark brown line. Hind wing: costa narrowly fuscous brown; a sub-terminal series of black spots outwardly edged by a white line; the spot in interspace 2 the largest and inwardly crowned more or less broadly with ochraceous yellow; an anticiliary black line and the cilia as on the fore wing. Underside: greyish brown. Fore and hind wings: the following transverse darker brown markings on each wing, the markings edged on the inner and outer sides with white lines—a short bar across the discocellulars, a discal catenulated band, the posterior two elongate spots of which on the fore wing are en Echelon, while the band on the hind wing in bisinuate and is capped anteriorly near the costa by a round black spot encircled with white; the above are followed by maculated inner and outer subterminal bands, which on the hind wing are curved and more or less interrupted on the tornal area by a comparatively large round black spot ill interspace 2 and a smaller similar spot in interspace 1, both spots inwardly crowned with ochraceous; the white edgings on the inner side to both sub-terminal bands on the hind wing are more or less lunular. In addition on the same wing there is a sub-basal curved row of four white-encircled spots, of which the anterior two and the spot on the dorsum are black, the other dark brown. Antennae black, shafts ringed with white; head, thorax and abdomen brown, the head and thorax clothed with bluish hairs; beneath: palpi, thorax and abdomen whitish.

Female upperside: brown. Fore wing: shot with blue from base outwards for a little over half its length down its middle, this blue irroration not extended to the costal margin; a slender anticiliary black line. Hind wing: a touch of blue iridescence near base; terminal markings much as on the forewing but the subterminal spots larger and not extended beyond interspace 6 ; in addition post-discally there is a lightening of the shade of the ground-colour, between which paler area and the subterminal spots the ground-colour assumes the form of a post-discal, short, transverse lunular band.
Underside as in the male, the markings slightly larger and more clearly defined. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male but slightly paler.

Dry season brood: Very similar to the same sexes of the wet-season brood, but can be recognized by the following differences:—Upperside: Male Ground-colour slightly duller; sub-terminal spots on the hind wing less clearly defined. Female: The blue shot area extended outwards on the fore wing for three-fourths of its length from base, but as in wet-season specimens not reaching the costal margin; on the hind wing the blue suffusion covers the entire medial portion of the wing from the base to the subterminal row of spots, of which latter the spot in interspace 2 is entirely without the inner ochraceous edging.
Underside: ground-colour darker than in specimens of the wet-season brood, the discocellular and discal transverse bands on both fore and hind wings broader, the terminal markings very ill-defined, the inner white edging to the inner of the two subterminal transverse bands broadened and very diffuse. On the hind wing the discocellular and discal bands coalesce and form an ill-defined diffuse medial cloud on the wing.

Distribution

Peninsular India south of the outer ranges of the Himalayas, but not in the desert tracts and somewhat local; Ceylon: Assam: Burma; extending into the Malayan Subregion.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilades_pandava

PS:
I am adding this a day later, mainly after reading Bob's critique.
1. I posted this picture yesterday from my workplace without exif data which normally remains on my laptop with the original raw files. It has now been added.
2. I am posting a workshop to show this Blue with its wings open so that Bob can see why the name is justified. The workshop picture is low in quality.

Thanks for looking.
uleko, xTauruSx, rcrick, haraprasan, maurydv, cataclysta, GLEM, eqshannon, Argus, sranjan, loot, iris, Arjun has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To loot: Hi Lootramthakur 2 07-21 23:02
To eqshannon: Workshop for youramthakur 2 07-21 19:40
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Critiques [Translate]

Ciao Ram,
bellissima cattura, mi piace molto la scelta compositiva con la foglia diagonale che occupa quasi tutto lo spazio e dà un ottimo risalto a questa graziosa farfalla, molto buona la nitidezza.
Grazie e complimenti.
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 294 W: 3 N: 800] (2856)
  • [2008-07-21 3:34]

Very nice photo, Ram!
Excellent POV and DOF, very nice colors, lovely contrasting BG and really good sharp details.
Bravo and TFS
Siggi

Hello Ram
Unusual POV but very good sharpness and DOF Beautiful butterfly on a great green background
TFS
Krzysztof

Dear sir,

Yet another fine release from your camera.Good color contrast and documentation of the underwings is very nice.

TFS

  • Great 
  • vral Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 59 W: 0 N: 159] (690)
  • [2008-07-21 4:54]

Hello Sir,
it is interesting to see this POV with most of the details in focus. Well managed exposure with flash.Colors and composition are very nice.
thanks for sharing
vral

Some "blues" appear blue as well, but this one is not dominant in that particular range. I wonder at the name science has chosen for it...certainly a good identifiable image with some pleasant greens for a backdrop. Truly a natural beauty in organic energy of carbon based life forms.....the flash gives it a modern day approach, but I am thrown off a bit as to where the natural light is coming from, direction-wise..
Bob

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2615 W: 133 N: 7512] (23431)
  • [2008-07-21 7:58]

That eyemark that you depict so well in this shot of the Plains cupid Blue is asking a bird to pick at it, Ram! The tails look like antennae as part of the deception.
Certainly if I were a bird so close to it the temptation would be too much. The sharpness, composition on the leaf and POV are excellent and contribute to making this a fine example of the protective markings and colouration that these species of Lycaenids have when resting in the closed-wing position.
Thanks for sharing this beauty,
Best wishes, Ivan

Dear Ram Sir,
To me no butterfly is visible anywhere around; but to you these beautiful creatures ensure they are conspicuous in a super model type pose and framed to TN finally. Overnight they become regional to global. You are like a famous film director, who gives them a break and make them celebrity :)
Regards-Subhash
PS: My main computer desktop is still non-ops; hence there had been a radio silence for last few days.

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5726 W: 605 N: 3416] (9137)
  • [2008-07-21 9:17]
  • [+]

Hi Ram

A lovely capture of this butterfly MF although perhaps at a slight oblique angel, but there are still enough of its features visible to please the viewer. I like the way how the leaf cups and cradles the little insect and presents it in the frame. The details are well detained and reproduced and the colours are strong and a delight.

Well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot

PS. On the rebound there is hopefully space to live and let live while we take hands and continue this noble journey which have produced wonderful moments and memories in the past.

  • Great 
  • iris Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 392 W: 41 N: 735] (2314)
  • [2008-07-21 9:20]

Hello Sir,
An interesting PoV of the little blue that is trudging up the leaf.

They are so common yet sometimes they can make you jump and glide around the garden for that one perfect shot with fine PoV and DoF.Good results here yet again with good DoF and view.

The details and the patterns in the butterfly has been picked up excellently.I do see a slight bit of noise on an otherwise fine capture.
TFS & Cheers

  • Great 
  • Arjun Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 299 W: 3 N: 735] (3444)
  • [2008-07-21 11:04]

hello sir,
Nice picture, lovely colours and sharpnness
TFS

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1004 W: 6 N: 2717] (10087)
  • [2008-07-21 17:07]

Hi,just marking,no time,thanks for share,Luciano

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 0 N: 4842] (14380)
  • [2008-07-21 22:43]

Hi Ram

Excellent shot of this Cupid. Nice detail, lighting and colour.

James

Hi Sir Ram,
A great shot of this beauty in all aspects.thanks for sharing.
Greetings,
Deniz

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2470 W: 168 N: 7478] (23630)
  • [2008-07-22 1:53]

Hello Ram,
Fine capture of this pretty Blue butterfly in a nice composition. I like the workshop image too and I bet it isn't easy to capture with its wings open in the Delhi heat!! Well done!
TFS and regards, Ulla

Hi Mr. Ram,
A nice capture of this beautiful blue cupid. Very well composed with sharp details. But I think POV wise it could have been more better. Anyway everything is not in our hand everytime. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Sincerely
HP

  • Great 
  • rcrick Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 629 W: 42 N: 1156] (3736)
  • [2008-07-22 23:25]

Hello Ram,

Wonderful shot of this Blue Butterfly, the colours and detail are stunning, well framed and composed, excellent notes, all the best,

Cheers Rick :0)

Merhaba Necla, splenidi macro with fantastic colors, elegant butterfly well captured with great sharpness and fine details, very well done, ciao Silvio

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