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A Crash-lander


A Crash-lander
Photo Information
Copyright: Ivan Kruys (Argus) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-07-17
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon 50D, Canon EF 300 f4L + Canon 1.4 converter
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/4000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-08-06 3:16
Viewed: 3562
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 62
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is the male Apollo that I captured on my 350 km trip north from my home in Scania.

Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius apollo scandinavica)

Swedish name: Apollofjäril

This species has been shown several times on TN. This is a male, shown by the white ‘furry’ body and denser white scaling of the wings. He can be compared to the egg-laying female posted by me recently.

It flies in fairly predictable flight paths, fluttering and then gliding with the wings in a v-position, similar to the Black-veined white. The flight may last for a minute or more to suddenly end in a crash that may be in long grass or any surface. When crashing into long vegetation the wings may be disarranged or closed a neater fashion as this male has managed.

They may also ‘tank up’ with nectar from various flowers to suck it up with their relatively short proboscis and they also have the power to squeeze out the nectar from deeper flowers with their legs.

About thirty years ago the Apollo was much more common in Sweden and other parts of Europe.
In Sweden it is now localised in a few localities along the East coast from the Stockholm archipelago southwards to the coast Östergötland and Eastern Småland. But it is still common on the Baltic island of Gotland as the smaller nominate form.
It also occurs in the mountainous regions of S. Norway, in S. Finland and in the European Alps and Pyrenees.

The larval host plants are various species of Sedum and the eggs are laid in nooks, crevices or on lichens sometimes some distance from the plant.

This was taken at a distance of about 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) and after moderate cropping it was selectively sharpened.
parasbhalla, horias, cataclysta, goatman04, flashpoint, cloud, boreocypriensis, goldyrs, Dis. Ac., techranger, jaycee, eqshannon, rcrick, nagraj, peter_stoeckl, Noisette, sandpiper2, siggi, anel, rousettus has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Ivan,

Impressive capture of the Apollo Butterfly! I like the textures on its wings. The colors are so natural and soothing to the eyes. The sharpness and POV are just wonderflly chosen. The eyes and teh hairs of this male species are prefectly shown. The butterfly's way of holding the dry grass is interesting indeed. Great composition!

Thanks for sharing.

regards,
Paras Bhalla

  • Great 
  • joska Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 806 W: 0 N: 4092] (22535)
  • [2009-08-06 4:17]

Very good photo of this Parnassius apollo sc.! Congratulations and TFS!

Hello Ivan
Your 350 km trip was well worth it to see these gorgeous butterflies. Excellent focus and sharp details of the patterns on the wings. Just so sad we are robbing the planet of wonders such as this.
Kind Regards
Vinny

hello Ivan
super colours and great composition with good details
greeting lou

  • Great 
  • horias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 837 W: 58 N: 2084] (11033)
  • [2009-08-06 6:48]

Ivan,
What a wonderful capture, great colors...I think one of the best of this species here in TL.
Congratulation!
Horia

Hi Ivan
Fantastic. Apollo is always fantastic. Your photo is sharp with great POV, natural colors and nice blured background Nothing to critique and a special smile for this special butterfly ;-)
Best wishes
Krzysztof

Hello Ivan,

A beautiful shot with lovely coloration patterns, sharpness & details. Well done with great composition. TFS.

Regards

Umar

excellent capture of the pretty apollo! :-) have not seen one of those around here in cologne. colors, details and sharpness and
terrific, love the pose, looks like he is hanging on for dear life. superb job & take care, thor.

Gran profuncidad y una excelente luz que permite admirar perfectamente los colores y las texturas de esta bella mariposa. Bien equilibrada y su centraje permite destacar de primera el motivo principal. Un buen trabajo.
Saludos: Josep Ignasi.

ciao Ivan!
la Parnassius apollo e' senza dubbio una delle farfalle che piu' mi piacerebbe fotografare....la cattura e' stupenda tra i fili d'erba e la postura davvero inusuale
ottimi dettagli e composizione...
buona serata sERGIO

  • Great 
  • cloud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 497 W: 111 N: 1535] (9539)
  • [2009-08-06 11:47]

Hello Ivan,
Although butterfly is hide among grass photo is very good. Good light and vivid colours also sharpness is excellent. I've never seen this species in nature.
Regards, Pawel

Hi Ivan Dostum,
An awesome shot of this pretty b-fly in a delightful composition.
TFS and cheers,
Bayram

Another superb macro, Ivan!The grass serves as a beautiful backdrop, if I may use that word here...
Very sharp and well framed shot!
Goldy

  • Great 
  • zetu Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 967 W: 26 N: 3888] (16941)
  • [2009-08-06 12:24]

Hello Ivan
Another capture with this beautiful butterfly. Well done
Regards
Razvan

Hi Ivan,

what an beatiful butterfly you have here been posting today.
Good pov and sharpness.
Fine colours.
I never been seen this specie in the wild.

Gert

Looks like this butterfly is holding on for dear life... :) I love it up against the brownish BG. You have presented it beautifully. Detail, POV, DOF, composition all superb.

Larry

  • Great 
  • lousat Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 6595 W: 89 N: 15659] (65489)
  • [2009-08-06 16:31]

Hi Ivan,you and your wife are very luckyes this year! A lot of rare and beautifuls species as i can see.This is another pearl in your collection,i never seen this specie and i'm very jealous of your wonderful portrait..ehehe....impressive quality..but this is usual in your pics!My best compliments,have a nice day,Luciano

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2454 W: 10 N: 8044] (25460)
  • [2009-08-06 16:34]

Hi Ivan,

It's wonderful to see this beautiful male Apollo. The crash landing phenomenon is interesting. I love the way he is grasping the blade of grass. He is very beautiful with his lovely colors and pretty wing markings. Excellent colors, details and textures - typical Argus quality.

Jane

It befuddles me how you do so well with white!!!! You are perhaps teh best imager here when it comes to figuring out the right lens and settings to get all contrasts right and such...An amazing work of natural art in white!
Bob

Hello Ivan,

Wonderful shot of this male Apollo, the detail is just excellent perfect exposure in the whites, love the narrow d.o.f it really isolates it beautifully among the grasses, perfect framing t.f.s,

Cheers Rick :)

Hi Ivan,

What a lovely composition! Nice sharp image with nice clarity and good OOF BG. Very well done. The pose of the BF is nice. also the way it has clinched the grass leaf is very amzing.

TFS,
Kedar

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5137 W: 166 N: 13121] (49139)
  • [2009-08-07 8:19]

Hello Ivan,
Just be back from a few days holiday.
Wonderful photo in perfect sharpness and details. The textures in the wings are great! Very beautiful contrasting and clear colours. Excellent POV, composition and DOF. A real beauty!
Hae a good weekend,
Peter

Hello Ivan,
a very attractive, clear and precise presentation of the male Apollo. Nice to see its strong legs embracing the blade of grass.
It seems to be a fresh specimen with beautifully intense red coloration.
In the Tyrolese Alps, driven by an unusually warm spring, that species was flying early this year, so the individuals I found in early July at elevations of 1500m already looked rather battered and bleached.
Funny description of the way these butterflies use to fly and land. Usually, I experienced them to be quite hard to follow. They do have a powerful and determined flight, and they make good use of thermics quickly taking them off and out of reach over gorges and rocks. But when drinking nectar, they seem to forget the rest of the world ...
Hoping that population will remain stable or even recover.
With thanks, and best regards,
Peter

Hello Ivan
this butterfly is soo beautiful and captured superbly, stunning sharpness, the texture of the wings and the hairy body are very well seen
I like also the brownish BG with the fine grass stalks and the wonderful colors
Have a great WE
Jacqueline

  • Great 
  • Nilson Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 488 W: 0 N: 566] (4423)
  • [2009-08-07 15:21]

Hello Ivan

Nice shot good sharpness of the details and natural colors, excellent composition osf this image. Great exposition of the wings of this butterfly.
Well done
Nilson

  • Great 
  • nagraj Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1618 W: 106 N: 3208] (15166)
  • [2009-08-07 20:58]

Hi,
Looks like fresh specimen, fine colorful markings and texture, good exposure too. tfs.
nagraj.v

Hi Ivan

Great shot of this Apollo with your big lens combo.
Excellent sharpness and details. Good composition amongst the grasses.

Chris

Hi Ivan,
The position of this butterfly is uncommon to me. The marking on this butterfly is easy to recognize. This is a lovely picture.
JC

Hello Ivan,
A rare species today! Thanks for sharing this so beautiful shot, with perfect sharpness and splendid tones. Have a nice sunday,
Catherine

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399] (52850)
  • [2009-08-12 6:47]

Hello Ivan,
Excellent sharp shot with stunning perspective. The detail is amazing on this hairy butterfly . Thanks for sharing and best regards.Siggi

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2009-08-13 23:28]

Hello Ivan,
How many beautiful pictures for the last days and an "anniversaire" for which I would like to congratulate you. Thanks so much for all you have done and brought to TN. C'est inestimable!
And this picture, I would just dream about making it. Such a fine and natural shot of one of the must impressive European butterflies.
Bravo! (Je ne suis toujours pas guérie de ma grippe)
I wish you and Ulla a nice weekend
Amitiés
Anne

Hej Ivan,
what a beautiful butterfly and its great close-up. In this July, I saw a couple of this species or P. caucasicus in fligt in Trabzon, NE Turkiye. Unfortunately I couldnt capture them. Up to now, I took only P. mnemosyne. you are lucky not to see it, but also to capture with a great macro. sharp details great. coloration, POV/DOF, composition and using light superb. notes always great. thanks for sharing, best wishes my friend
Ahmet

Ciao Ivan. Good colours and perfect sharp. I never seen it before. TFS.

Roberto

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