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Zebra Longwing


Zebra Longwing
Photo Information
Copyright: Donna Rasmussen (captainsgirl) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 526 W: 6 N: 1017] (4082)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-05-09
Categories: Insects
Camera: Cannon EOS Rebel XTi, 55-200 1:4.5-5.6
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/40 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Butterflies [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-05-12 9:19
Viewed: 470
Points: 31
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
My daughter, her boyfriend and I took a 30 mile bike ride from Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls and back, on the way we stopped in at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. An amazing place! I posted a photo yesterday before I researched what it was, this time I did a bit of "surfing" to find this beauty.
Found on NSIS(Heliconius charitonius) are one of four longwing and fritillary butterflies found in Florida.

In 1996, Governor Chiles designated the Zebra Longwing as Florida's official state butterfly. The zebra, easily identified by its long black wings striped with yellow, is found in all parts of the state year round.

Zebras fly slowly and don't startle easily, making them easy to follow and observe. A zebra resting at dusk can be gently coaxed to climb on your finger and to return, unflustered, to its perch. Zebras roost in groups, returning to the same location each night.

Zebra longwings feed on nectar and pollen. They are the only butterflies known to eat pollen which is probably why they have a long lifespan of about six months. If denied pollen, they live a more typical lifespan of about one month.

Zebras are especially fond of the nectar of plants of the Verbena family. During the spring and early summer, the zebras in my yard concentrated on the red pentas and occasionally visited the blue porterweed nearby. During the late summer, their attention shifted to the golden dewdrop. In winter, they're attracted to poinsettia flowers.

Passion vines host zebra eggs and larvae. Passion vines contain toxins that are consumed by the larvae and make the adult butterflies poisonous to predators. The tiny (1.2mm x 0.7mm) yellow egg is usually laid on new foliage, sometimes in a group. The newly emerging caterpillar is yellow. It will go through four or five instars (moltings), becoming white with six bands of black spots and black branched spines and a greenish-white head that is also spotted and has two spines. When it pupates it forms a chrysalis that looks like a spiny curled, dried leaf. If disturbed, the chrysalis makes a rasping sound.

The entire process, from the time the egg is laid until the butterfly emerges, is dependent on temperature, taking longer during cool weather. Under optimum conditions, it make take as little as three weeks.

thans for visting my gallery and your comments on my photos.

Donna:o)
SkyF, XOTAELE, HaBeMa, Maite, saeedabbasi, Royaldevon, fartash, JoseMiguel, sily, NellyD has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2007-05-12 10:02]

Hi Donna,
I thought there would be more butterfly shots coming... two hours at the conservatory can mount to quite a few shots ;-).
Lovely composition ion this, very nice DOF you seperated the butterfly nicely from the BG.
POV, sharpness and colors are great.
TFS...Sky

Hola Donna.
Una magnífica y colorida imagen.
Buenos contrastes y acertada exposición.
Buena nota, saludo y tfs, JL.

Hi donna;very good a macro,nice Zebra design....
Habema.
:-}

  • Great 
  • Maite Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1003 W: 64 N: 1240] (5074)
  • [2007-05-12 11:57]

What a beautiful capture, Donna!
Excellent sharpness and colors and I like a lot the composition! The little lilac flowers are also a point.
Congratulations and TFS.
Best wishes
Maite

Hi Donna ,
very nice image with great composition.
BG and sharpness are excellent.
well captured
thanks for sharing
Regards
Saeed

  • Great 
  • demeve Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 514 W: 8 N: 1128] (4152)
  • [2007-05-12 13:04]

Hello Donna, what a fantastic shot of this butterfly, the collors and details are perfect, congratulations... very good focus and sharpness, well done...

Hello Donna,
Excellent colours, sharpness and detail. Great dof too! I am so looking forward to butterflies appearing in my garden ... I have never tried to capture them before. Photography has only been a hobby since Christmas!
Kind regards,
Bev :-)

Hello Donna
What a wonderful shot of this Zebra Longwing
:-) Great details and sourronding,
fantastic colors, Superb shot.

Good Luck
Fartash

Hi Donna,
A great capture of this zebra butterfly!
Their color and strips on the wings are so beautiful, that makes this a very special insect.
Very good your POV and the pose of the inscet catched.
I like a lot the soft background got, and the two tiny flowers adds a color accent to the picture.
A great idea to came in to the Niagara conservatory!
Congratulations and thanks for share it.
My best regards,
JM

Hi Donna,
Great capture of this zebra butterfly.
very nice composition and sharpness
cheers

  • Great 
  • sily Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 252 W: 6 N: 392] (1887)
  • [2007-05-12 20:03]

Hi Dona!
Great view of this beautiful and delicate butterfly, I love the BG and composititon, great DOF!TFS!

Bonjour,
Bel ensemble plein de délicatesse.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

hi donna!
excellent colors, composition, sharpness and DOF.
i like it.
tfs
zoran

  • Great 
  • NellyD Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 236 W: 0 N: 478] (1783)
  • [2007-05-13 17:30]

Hi Donna,

A very good capture of a pretty butterfly :-)
I like the composition, very good sharpness, BG and colours.
Well done!
Thanks for sharing.

Greetings, Nel

Hello Donna,
A beautiful butterfly, well... most of them are! This is special with those patterns...
Good DOF gives fine details, and the image is well composed!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-05-19 23:11]

Hello Donna


I like the feel of the shot,Very good DOF with the blurred BG.Wonderful colours.Very good DOF with the focus on the butterfly.TFS
Rob

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