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Six spot burnet moth


Six spot burnet moth
Photo Information
Copyright: Valerie Schnepp (valy67) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1409 W: 53 N: 1929] (5768)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-06-22
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon 350D, Canon EF 55-200mm 4.5-5.6 II USM
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Beautiful Moths, Bellas Polillas, Belles Mites... [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-06-26 9:42
Viewed: 1277
Points: 62
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Six spot burnet moth (Zygaena filipendula)

I have found it in the meadows near my grand mother's house, by a sunny and very hot afternoon. It was sitting on this flower without moving, so it was easy to get some good shots of him.

The six-spot burnet is a brightly coloured day-flying moth. Its bright colours warn potential predators that it is poisonous. The blackish forewings have a metallic sheen and feature red spots that earn the species its common name. Despite the name, however, the number of spots can vary between individuals, and may be fused in some cases. The red hind wings have a fine bluish border and the antennae are club-shaped. A colour form known as Z. f. flava has yellow spots in place of the normal red ones. Very occasionally, specimens with brown spots are also seen.

Found in a range of habitats including meadows with plenty of flowers, chalk downland, sea-cliffs, woodland rides, railway cuttings, disused quarries, and sand hills. It seems to prefer sites that have a mix of short and long grass, where there are sheltered sunny patches. The larvae need long grasses on which to pupate.

This moth lives in colonies, and flies in sunshine from June to August. It feeds on the nectar of a large range of flowers, with wild thyme being a particular favourite. On overcast days it tends to retreat deep into grasses and can be difficult to spot. It is a single-brooded species, and the eggs are laid on bird’s-foot-trefoil. The caterpillars overwinter once, and occasionally twice, before pupating in paper-like cocoons on grass stems before emerging in June.

Although this species is not threatened at present, it seems likely that the widespread loss and agricultural improvement of semi-natural grasslands that has taken place will have impacted on this beautiful moth. Loss of ancient grasslands continues to date, while scrub encroachment is also a problem. Furthermore, colonies are vulnerable to drought.
dew77, pvs, SkyF, eruyanik, phlr, ramthakur, liquidsunshine, peter_stoeckl, aido, cas_orla, ddg, jmp, pgmoni, jeanpaul, coasties, pablominto, Christopher_PL, Silke, scottevers7, Janice, shal, firelord, limier, saeedabbasi, Alex99 has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Silke: Hi Silke !valy67 1 06-27 09:34
To coasties: Hi Pam !valy67 1 06-27 09:01
To liquidsunshine: Hi Alan !valy67 1 06-26 13:25
To dew77: Hi !valy67 1 06-26 09:51
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • nikole (142)
  • [2006-06-26 9:49]

Wonderful colours :)
nicole

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4964 W: 298 N: 4027] (13131)
  • [2006-06-26 9:50]
  • [+]

Hello Valerie,
Wonderful close up,well seen and composed.POV,colors,framing and simple BG are excellent.Branch at left side attracts a little attention and may be would be better if you cropped or cloned it.Nevertheless great work and i liked it a lot.
TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1159 W: 255 N: 2639] (11925)
  • [2006-06-26 10:00]

Hi Valerie,
A very colorfull shot of this moth,like it alot although I agree with dew 77 that picture could have been cropped a bit on the left side,

Well done and TFS,

Paul

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-06-26 10:16]

Bonjour Valerie,
a wonderful close up. The colors are wonderful and sharpness is very good. Excellent POV and very well composed.
TFS..Sky

Yes, i'm right! Such a beautiful composition and framing here! Lovely soft colours and great focusing on the six spotted! Beautiful flower also! bg is like watercolour! Great shot! Thank you!
Ersin

Very good point of view to shoot this colourful moth, Valerie.
Great macro with lovely colours, sharp focus and thoughtful composition.
TFS.

bonjour valerie
joli contraste entre l'insecte et la fleur,le BG est exempt de bruit.c'est tres reussi.
laurent

This is a wonderful capture Valerie,
Good detail, colours and sharpness. exposure and lighting are good. Good POV and lovely composition.

Thanks for posting, have a great week.

and good luck tomorrow against Spain ;)

Hi Valerie,
very pretty, soft and tender.
Fine details, subtle coloration.
Very well decided compostion.
Thank you! Best reagards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1095 W: 169 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-06-26 13:41]

Hi Valerie,
Lovely shot, the Moth stands out very well against the soft pastel colours of the flower and the background. The Moth itself is excellent, perfect exposure, great colours and textures, clear and sharp details. Nicely framed shot, although I might have cropped the left side off so the brown stem wasn't in view, or cropped less and cloned the remainder of the stem out. Just an alternate view of this excellent shot.
Regards,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • ddg Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 889 W: 23 N: 946] (5061)
  • [2006-06-26 14:50]

Bonjour Valerie, beaucoup de délicatesse dans cette composition et beaucoup de fraicheur egalement. Les couleurs sont bien respectées, mes félicitations, Didier.

  • Great 
  • magal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 228 W: 0 N: 314] (1241)
  • [2006-06-26 15:19]

Hi Valerie,
Beautifully composed shot. The simplcity of the BG gives more impact to the subject. Colurs are magnificent and that brown stalk on the left balances the whole scene.
TFS
Mark

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1836 W: 94 N: 2341] (8407)
  • [2006-06-26 15:53]

Hola Valerie,
Una magnífica mariposa parada en una delicada flor. El color y el punto de vista (POV) son perfectos y la composición muy acertada. Los detalles que muestra la foto son extremos y el aislamiento del objeto principal del fondo perfecto.
Una foto delicada y estética.
Un saludo,
José M.
PS. Una lástima que el habitat de la mariposa esté amenazado.

  • Great 
  • pgmoni Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 345 W: 97 N: 573] (2399)
  • [2006-06-26 16:16]

Good picture. The composition is a bit puzzling, but far from unpleasant. The contrast are excellent, as is the overall light and BG. Superb job and a good note.

Bonjour Valerie
Félicitation pour cette très jolie prise de vue . C'est vraiment un beau papillon et les couleurs sont justes,ainsi que la netteté et les détails.
Merci pour l'envoie et Bravo....JP

Hi Valerie

This is a beautiful shot. The colour tones are soft and lovely to view. Nicely composed with perfect OOF BG. I did find the brown leaf? distracting as it took my eye away from the main subject. Have uploaded a workshop. :-)

Hi Valerie,
A very pleasant composition, combined with proficient macro work seems to be your trade mark..!
Good colours and lovely details, personally I wouldn't mind a tad more contrast, but that is possibly my screen...
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • phlr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1276 W: 133 N: 874] (2804)
  • [2006-06-27 3:41]

Very good shot of this Zygaenidae Valerie!
Excellent POV, BG and colours!
Excellent DOF and details!
5* and TFS!

Hi Valerie
It's really well done picture - nice colours and composition. I think you could move the object a little bit to the left ;-D

Chris

  • Great 
  • Silke Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 753 W: 108 N: 1730] (5406)
  • [2006-06-27 9:29]
  • [+]

Okay -- I will stop being a curmudgeon about insect shots (they do give me the willies!).
I love the bright colours on this creature; the focus (and DOF) is excellent, of course and the composition (on an angle) is very complimentary.
Nonetheless, I take refuge in the fact that this one will not be beating its wings against my face way over here in Canada :)
Best regards
Silke

Hi Valerie,
Beautiful subtle colors in this excellent composition. Detail looks very sharp. Great job isolating it from the backround. DOF control was perfect. Godd camera work here!
Scott

What a beautiful moth Valeire.
Superb composition, colors and details.
Great POV and BG and great frame too.
tfs!!!!
Regards
JC

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 641 W: 32 N: 791] (3080)
  • [2006-06-27 17:33]

Hi Valerie, an excellent composition. I like the way the flower stem leads you to the right of the picture to an excellent moth. Details, colours and lighting are excellent. Very well done and TFS.
Dean.

  • Great 
  • btokaz (34)
  • [2006-06-27 17:41]

Absolutely beautiful Valerie...
Tomasz

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3471 W: 145 N: 5989] (17924)
  • [2006-06-28 6:52]

Hello Valérie, I have always liked seeing these moths on TN. Good catch of him on the flowerhead. Colours and details look good, thank you,
Janice

  • Great 
  • shal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 270 W: 70 N: 493] (2094)
  • [2006-06-28 15:14]

Hey Val,
Excellent macro, good details and DOF,
lovely composition,
great effort,
You have a nice collection of images :)
Congratz,
Cheers TFS,
Shal

Excellent shot with real colors,nice BG and one more lovely theme for me.
Next week I will visit my vilage and I will saw all this beautiful small world alive.
See you

  • Great 
  • OzBY Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 182 W: 2 N: 310] (1069)
  • [2006-07-21 4:50]

Very good picture of this moth.
Very good color, POV and BG

Oz

Hello Valerie,
Sharp and clearly seen picture. Excellent composition, pov and dof. Nice soft color tone. Very well done.
JC

Hi Valerie ,
very good focus and sharpness.
good composition and colors.
thanks
Saeed

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3245 W: 154 N: 4948] (15933)
  • [2007-02-25 6:59]

Hi Valerie.
I like the delicateness and exactness of this beautiful picture. Colors of your shot are simply amazing in their softness and impressiveness. Moth is reproduced perfectly as well as the stem. Its hair is looked so wonderful. Elegant at high range and pleasant to eye picture. My best regards and TFS.
Alexei.

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