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Black Swallowtail on Thistle


Black Swallowtail on Thistle
Photo Information
Copyright: Angelina Deans (angybone) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1191 W: 14 N: 2371] (7672)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-27
Categories: Insects
Camera: OLYMPUS E-500, Olympus Zuiko 40-150 f3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/200 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Date Submitted: 2007-04-27 18:49
Viewed: 575
Points: 7
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

Favorite Flowers: Butterfly weed, phlox, clover, milkweed, Hesperis,Mexican Sunflowerand thistle Caterpillar Plants: Carrots, parsley, dill, and celery Common Range: Southeast, Desert Southwest, Midwest, New England
Black Swallowtails lay eggs on Parsley and plants of the carrot family.
(http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1INSECTS/swalotlfax.html)

Because of the amount of yellow on this flower, I believe it's a male. The males have more yellow in their wings but I don't have a female to compare him to.

Mr. Butterfly is snacking on a Texas Thistle, Southern Thistle Cirsium texanum Buckl.:

Texas thistle is found in sandy or clayey soils of the Edwards Plateau and South Texas Plains. It is an upright perennial that can grow two to five feet tall, with spiny leaves and bracts. The flower head lacks ray flowers, but has numerous pink to rose-purple disk flowers. Texas thistle is foraged by butterflies and other insects. Birds, such as the goldfinch, eat the seeds of this plant and use the silky fluff of the mature seeds to line their nests. The flower buds are occasionally eaten by white-tailed deer and the seeds are eaten by Rio Grande turkeys. Texas thistle blooms from April to July.

(http://uvalde.tamu.edu/herbarium/cite.htm)
Ken52, iris, jmirah, haraprasan has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Good 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 640 W: 98 N: 1241] (4189)
  • [2007-04-27 20:23]

Hi Angelina,
Outstanding POV and nice composition. Good focus on the black butterfly. Excellent note.
Looks like you were in bright sun and parts of photo are overexposed. Don't know what to suggest... maybe an aperture of somewhere between f8 and f11. That would give you faster shutter speed. In bright sun I sometimes go manual and underexpose and then lighten the contrast in post processing.

  • Great 
  • trinko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 593 W: 79 N: 323] (4314)
  • [2007-04-27 20:39]

nice composition but i'd crop closer to the butterfly and flower. colors are fine but the focus is off, i'd sharpen both the flower and the insect.

Hi Ang,
Colors are great but definition of the thistle is a little fuzzy. Glad to see your getting aquainted with your new camera. Another fine informative note :)
Jim

Hi Angelina,
Detail wise it might not be a very good capture of the butterfly. But I like here the angle of view and a superb composition a lot. Also the BF along with the flower are very beautiful and which I have never seen in my eyes in real. Thanks a lot for sharing.

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