Skipper sur le Point..

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Skipper sur le Point..
Photo Information
Copyright: Nigel Deacon (Merlin) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 373 W: 219 N: 288] (896)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-07-20
Categories: Insects
Camera: Nikon Coolpix 4500
Exposure: f/7.2, 1/100 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-04-03 11:46
Viewed: 1403
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 66
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola

This species closely resembles the commoner Small Skipper and, as a result, is often overlooked. One of the main distinguishing features between the two species is that the tips of the antennae are black in the Essex Skipper, and orange or brown in the Small Skipper. In fact, the antennae of the Essex Skipper look as if they have had their ends dipped in black paint. The distribution of this species has more than doubled in the UK over the last few decades, making this one of the few butterflies that is on the increase. There is a single generation per year, from late June to the end of August, with a peak in early August.

Foodplants
The main foodplant is Cock's-foot Dactylis glomerata. Several other grasses are also used.

Habitat
This species is found in tall, dry grasslands in open sunny situations, such as roadside verges, woodland rides and acid grasslands.

Breeding
Eggs are laid in batches of 4 or 5 in tightly-furled leaf sheaths. The caterpillar fully develops within the egg before entering hibernation, and emerges the following April. The eggs are oval in shape, with flattened sides, and are 0.8mm long and 0.3mm wide. They are pale lemon in colour when first laid, which deepens to a yellow-cream after a few days.
The larva hatches from the egg in the spring and starts feeding. Within a few days, the larva spins together the edges of a leaf blade to construct a protective tube from which it emerges to feed on the tip of the leaf. The larva is 20-24mm in length when fully-grown.
Pupation occurs at the base of the foodplant, in a silk cocoon that is enclosed within a tent of leaves. The pupa is attached to the leaf blades by a silken girdle, and also by the cremaster (hook at the tail). The pupa is 15-17mm in length. This stage lasts 18-21 days.

This species lives in discrete colonies, but has expanded its range considerably in the last decade, indicating significant colonisation abilities. Each colony may range from a few individuals to several thousands. The males set up territories, which they defend from a favourite perch. The females, however, are more sedentary, and make slow flights to select sites for egg-laying. The wingspan of this species is 26-30mm.

Photographed while I was doing a bird survey in southeast England. Interestingly, the insect survey was being done by another biologist, who recorded many Small Skippers and no Essex Skippers. In fact, nearly all the specimens I saw were Essex Skippers ;) A tight crop - but that's the way I took it!
aido, phlr, saguzar, fiyo, marhowie, peter_stoeckl, ALIRIZA, valy67, limier, blue-velvet29, wkshelton, scottevers7, chouette, Janice, AndyB, red45, livios, firelord, metcher, ramthakur, thistle, cedryk, Luc, shal has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1103 W: 173 N: 1227] (4038)
  • [2006-04-03 11:53]
  • [2]

Hi Nigel,
I think the tight crop works extremely well. Excellent detail and colours, the DOF works very well not only to defocus the BG but also to remove the detail from the foreground flowers. An excellent shot and informative note.
Cheers,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • phlr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1279 W: 133 N: 871] (2766)
  • [2006-04-03 11:58]

Stunning Nigel!
A perfect photo of this Hesperiidae!
Perfect on everything!
Above scale photo!
Keep on going and TFS!

  • Great 
  • saguzar Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1102 W: 71 N: 1245] (6381)
  • [2006-04-03 12:08]
  • [2]

Hi Nigel,
A perfect, amaizing shot!!I love the detais, colours, composition...all. You have done very, very well. afavourite of mine.
Cheers
Hernán

  • Great 
  • fiyo Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 969 W: 5 N: 2191] (8022)
  • [2006-04-03 12:14]
  • [2]

Hello Nigel,
Great shot, very good POV and pose. Very well done .TFS..

HI Nigel,
Fantastic closeup! Everything works. I think Adrian nailed it :)
Very well done..

Hey, Nigel -
back again in the arena with an outstanding super macro shot!
Amazing details. Very dynamic setting.
Beautiful soft colours.
Composition superb.
Excellent shot.
Thank you!
Regards,
Peter

Hi Nigel,
Very good macro shot!Nice color, details and very well composed.Thanks for sharing... Congratulations...
Ali Rıza

  • Great 
  • valy67 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1318 W: 52 N: 1782] (5274)
  • [2006-04-03 12:50]

Very beautiful photo. Sharp details, wonderful composition and nice colors... a great close-up ! Congratulations.
Valerie.

  • Great 
  • carper Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2165 W: 124 N: 2567] (8208)
  • [2006-04-03 13:01]
  • [2]

I have self capture this skinner a few times,
but to be honest I made not such a good shot you did made here. a realy good composition, well taken good in pov and a great dof, fantastic job.
gr. jaap

  • Great 
  • Zeno Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 489 W: 0 N: 935] (7943)
  • [2006-04-03 13:13]
  • [2]

Hi Nigel,

Nice contrast in this photo. The orange and the purple are magic together.
Great shot.

regards,
Zeno.

Hello Nigel!
Great details, colors and POV. Well done!
TFS;-)
regards
Dorota

  • Great 
  • limier Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 280 W: 14 N: 235] (1027)
  • [2006-04-03 13:45]

Excellent macro Nigel.
Love to see Skippers that are common to my village.I remember that every summer many of them flying around us.
That you for the useful note.
See you

Hello Nigel, great captue and composed Photo, The details are right on, Great photo. TFS Kyle

  • Great 
  • Luce Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 80 W: 0 N: 15] (58)
  • [2006-04-03 14:00]

Bon close-up! La netteté et l'exposition sont excellentes. Le cadrage serré et la faible profondeur de champs font bien ressortir le papillon. Bravo.

Hi Nigel,
This one rocks!!! Every element that is needed for a great photo is in place here. I am thinking large format print for this one!
Scott

hi nigel
magnifique macro.
tres belles couleurs et bons details.
laurent

  • Great 
  • Aramok Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 924 W: 99 N: 1395] (4789)
  • [2006-04-03 14:49]

tight crop or not, it is a lovely picture and at the very same time has ID'ed a couple of my unid'ed skipper photos from last summer.
Thank you for highlighting the diference.

Hi Nigel,
just perfect, I love this cute skipper so much, the colours are phantastic and you had warm light, very well done, thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

Excellent macro Nigel,
Good detail, colours and sharpness.
Composition and lighting are excellent. Good POV and framing.
Thanks for posting, have a good week.

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1702 W: 5 N: 2123] (11730)
  • [2006-04-03 18:49]

Bonjour Nigel,


Excellente composition,les couleurs sont superbes et éclatantes. Félicitations pour les détails et la qulité de l'image.

Merci!


joseph

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3082 W: 231 N: 5811] (19540)
  • [2006-04-03 21:37]

An outstanding capture, Nigel.
Perfect on all counts.
An absolutely gorgeous shot.
TFS. : )

Great close up Nigel! Colors and composition are beautiful. Amazing details, great DOF and POV. Very nice background. Thanks for sharing!

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3339 W: 144 N: 5643] (16725)
  • [2006-04-03 23:54]

Hi Nigel, what a lovely furry butterfly. His details are nice and sharp, and colours too. Lovely composition of the thistle plant. Good job,
Janice

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1593 W: 32 N: 1363] (3978)
  • [2006-04-04 4:31]

Hello Nigel,
An excellent capture of this Skipper.
Great colours,sharp detail and an excellent POV.
Superb!

TFS

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2766 W: 75 N: 7516] (25149)
  • [2006-04-04 7:22]

Hi Nigel!
Superb macro! Details and colours are great. Composition with tigh crop is really good. Very warm, summer picture. Thanks for sharing this gem!

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2309 W: 324 N: 4312] (16848)
  • [2006-04-14 17:36]

Nigel, this is a very beautiful macro.

Lovely colors, pov and composition. I like saturation and contrast too. Perfect sharpness.

Congratulations.

Hi Nigel.
Superb details on this skipper. Excellent sharpness and exposure. Beautiful colors.

Hi Nigel!
Superb shot, but then nothing less could be expected from a professional like you.
It is gratifying to note that your note on the species is first-hand and very authentic and appropriate by virtue of that.
Ram

Hello Nigel,
This is great! The tight crop works perfectly, colours are very natural, details razor sharp and whole shot very clear.
I like it a lot!
VERY WELL DONE!

  • Great 
  • OzBY Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 182 W: 2 N: 299] (1021)
  • [2006-05-05 7:22]

A great closeup on this skipper. Excellent color, BG and sharpness.

Oz

  • Great 
  • cedryk Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 956 W: 57 N: 1603] (4945)
  • [2006-05-30 19:59]

Hello Nigel,
Very nice detailed shot with a perfect note. You could simply make an atlas of British Lepidoptera.
Best greetings,
Michal

  • Great 
  • shal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 287 W: 71 N: 499] (2086)
  • [2006-09-22 17:38]

Hi Nigel,
excellent composition and framing, great colours and contrast :)
outstanding details,
Cheers,
Vishal Sabharwal

  • Great 
  • sily Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 265 W: 6 N: 390] (1857)
  • [2007-05-06 10:51]

HI Nigel!
These are quite hard to photograph, they are fast and unsettling, saw a lot of them but couldn't take any photo because they keept flying away, great macro and very skilled work all the technical details are superb and composition is excellent!

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