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Monarch & Milkweed


Monarch & Milkweed
Photo Information
Copyright: Greg Hume (greghume) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 213 W: 74 N: 556] (2080)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-08-30
Categories: Insects
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50, Leica 35-430
Exposure: f/2.8, 1/400 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-09-20 13:53
Viewed: 312
Points: 10
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Monarch caterpillar headed down a milkweed stalk. It's not easy to determine which way he is headed, but the longer antennae indicate the head. Milkweed is the Monarch's favorite food and it provides the caterpillar and adult butterfly with a toxic defense against predators.
I was surprised at the variety of ways that the various instars graze on the plant.
1st, 2nd and 3rd instar Monarch larvae typically exhibit a type of feeding behavior known as trenching. They do not actually chew all the way through the leaf; rather, they feed on only a few of the layers.
4th instar larvae will chew out a circular area in milkweed leaves, this helps reduce the amount of sticky sap that flows as the larva feeds.
5th instar Monarch larvae are voracious and quickly consume entire leaves. In order to minimize the flow of the milkweed's sap, they will sometimes chew a notch in the leaf's petiole, causing the leaf to hang down. This behavior is known as flagging.
tuslaw, Mikolaj, boreocypriensis, Miss_Piggy has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

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  • tuslaw Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 511 W: 20 N: 1392] (4861)
  • [2009-09-20 17:08]

Great shot Greg!!
Very good detail with excellent exposure. The colors are very natural looking and I also like the vertical composition.
I sometimes put the caterpillars in a jar with some milkweed leaves and in a day or two you will have a beautiful lime green chrysalis. In about 9 days a Monarch butterfly will emerge and thus begin the life cycle all over.
Ron

Hello Greg! Wonderful macro, perfect contrast and sharpness. Beautiful colours. Good exposure. Splendid effect. Good luck!

Hi Greg,

An aesthetic and also great macro capture of a monarch butterfly's caterpillar from an nice POV with excellent clarity and delightful composition.
TFS and cheers,

Bayram

Hallo Greg
The body looks so soft and chubby. Now I cannot really say that I like worms or caterpillars or maggots or larvae's or any of these wormy creatures but this one really is a beauty and it tickle my fancy with its bright colours and lovely markings. This is a lovely image, captured in fine style and presented in a pleasant manner. Best regards
Anna

hello greg,
fine capture of the monarch caterpillar, this one looks beautiful with the patterns and colours, liked the poc and the composition too, these days i too see a lot of caterpillars here,
tfs & regards
pankaj

Thanks a lot for your critiques on my 3rd anniversary picture.

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