<< Previous Next >>

Argynnis paphia - "Emperor's Mantle"


Argynnis paphia -
Photo Information
Copyright: Goran Ogen (sgo) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 137 W: 32 N: 239] (718)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-07-23
Categories: Insects
Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): My Butterflies Summer -06 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-03-22 22:19
Viewed: 1013
Points: 16
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Argynnis paphia from Fleeting Memories From Summer -06.

With a wingspan of ~53-65 the Silver-washed Fritillary is the biggest of fritillaries in the Nordic countries. It is also, I think, one of the most easily recognizable. Its forewing is acute with a slightly concave outline, the uppersides shine light bright orange (in females being darker brownish-yellow) with big round black dots. The solid black pheromone scales in males, seen as four streaks along the ribs of the forewings, are most often clearly visible; during courting, a very well-choreographed dance, these scales are rubbed off however and the male powders the female with them so that she becomes the more receptive to his courting (ref.3). If only undersides of wings are seen, the over-all greenish, "linden-green" tint, splashed with 2-3 silvery strokes across the wings, are safe characteristics for species identification. The grandeur and beauty of this fritillary is reflected in many of its vernacular epithets as being the "Emperor's Mantle".
For complementary illustrations of the Queen of Spain Fritillary, please consult TN's own beautiful Argynnis_paphia-gallery!

A curious feature of this species is that the female deposits her eggs behind flakes of bark, preferably of pine tree and oak, far away from the host plants to which the larvae are forced to wander until finding them - the goal being: Viola-species ("Viols"). As full-grown butterflies they like glades rich in flowers – like Cirsium/Carduus-species (“Thistles”), Knautia-species ("Scabious flowers") and Succisa-species ("Devil's bit" i.a.) – thin deciduous forest and pastures with mixed trees and bushes, esp. Bramble; in Sweden, at least, it has adapted itself more and more to coniferous forest.

Taxonomy:
Familia: Nymphalidae
Subfamilia: Heliconiinae
Genus: Argynnis, probably a distortion of Gr. argennós "white, shining" from argós with the same meaning. The therefrom derived Latin noun argennon means "very white silver". Perhaps Fabricius, the auctor of this genus (1807), was alluding to this meaning when he authored this epithet as the genus epithet.
Species: paphia, from the Gr. adjective páphios "from/of Paphos", a city on the southwest coast on the island of Cyprus, famous for its temple dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love; in its absolute form hǽ paphíæ denotes "The Goddess of Paphos", i.e. Aphrodite.

References:
1: Nationalnyckeln till Sveriges flora och fauna: Fjärilar - Dagfjärilar. Hesperiidae - Nymphalidae (2005),
2: Bo Söderström: Svenska fjärilar. En fälthandbok (2006),
3: Michael Stoltze: Gyldendals guide til danske sommerfugle (2003).
ramthakur, vanderschelden, phlr has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
None
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

hi goran,
you have got so manu lovely posts of the beautiful butterflies, nice shot, tight cropping looks nice, unusual pov, good details on the wings, nice bg, well saturated colours,
tfs & regards
pankaj

  • Great 
  • radz Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 603 W: 11 N: 616] (3404)
  • [2007-03-23 0:35]

Beautiful shot,lovely POV.DOF&Composition is very nice.TFS!!

  • Great 
  • viv Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 297 W: 3 N: 653] (3307)
  • [2007-03-23 6:00]

Hello Goran,
What a nice composition, your POV is excellent. I love the flowers too.
The butterfly has many details.
Great.
Vivian

What a fine composition, Goran!
I like the point of view from the rear. The wings are revealed in their glorious beauty. The focus is very sharp and the colours delightful.
TFS.
Ram

Hi Goran,
Very good image...
Well composed and good sharpness.
Well done
TFS
Annick

Hola Goran.
Que preciosa foto,los colores son bellos y muy nitida.Saludos.
Antonio.

  • Great 
  • Nilson Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 442 W: 0 N: 427] (3110)
  • [2007-03-23 17:38]

Uma linda borboleta de cores vivas de boa nitides e composição, meus parabéns por esta belissima foto.

Nice shot. The colours and the pose given by the buterfly look beautiful.

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF