Boloria napaea.

Photo Information

(11530)

Genre: Animals

Medium: Color

Date Taken: 2008-07-19

Categories: Insects

Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC-H5

Exposure: f/4, 1/320 seconds

Photo Version: Original Version

Theme(s): Naturpark Oetztal [view contributor(s)]

Date Submitted: 2008-12-29 7:16

Viewed: 8267

Favorites: 1 [view]

Points: 56

[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note

Boloria napaea (Hoffmannsegg, 1804)
female.

Mountain Fritillary, �hnlicher Perlmutterfalter, Bergparelmoervlinder, Fj�llp�rlefj�ril, Fjellperlemorvinge, Tunturihopeat�pl�, Nacr� des Renou�es, Perlada de Montana

Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae

Wing span: 34 � 42 mm

One of the last happy captures when dark clowds of rain ended a bright sunny day of summer that was abundant with observations of alpine flowers and butterflies:

A rather rare observation, but there is always some chance in June and July to meet that small, nicely orange, quick flying fritillary when you enter the zone of alpine meadows above the forest line - either in the mountains of Northern Scandinavia, or in Austria, southern Bavaria, Switzerland, the French Alps, the Pyrenees.

In its central and southern European habitats it is very likely to mistake the Mountain Fritillary (Boloria napaea) for the similar and obviously more common Boloria pales (Denis & Schifferm�ller, 1775), the Shepherd's Fritillary, a species that is confined to central and southern European mountain regions. The males of both species look pretty much the same, which is the reason for B. napaea�s German name ��hnlicher Perlmutterfalter� ("similar fritillary"). Females, however, do look different. At females of Boloria napaea, the bright orange colour of upper wings usually turns into a greenish grey, making them look quite exquisite:

Wings opened.

The species loves alpine meadows in rich blossom, and can be seen in one generation in June and July. Its caterpillars feed on Viola, and on Polygonium vivipare, taking two years to grow before turning into butterflies.

In Europe, Boloria napaea seems to be a relic of Ice Age, living in isolated colonies in the European Alps between 1500m and 2500m, and in Scandinavia from 60� north to North Cape and northern Finland where it may be seen even at sea level. The species is also reported from Siberia, the Altai, from Alaska and Wyoming.

The plant:

Senecio abrotanifolius (L.)
Eberrauten-Greiskraut, B�renkraut

Family: Asteraceae,

growing in small numbers on alpine meadows above silicate from 1500m to 3000m. Senecio abrotanifolius var. tiroliensis has yellow petals turning into a beautifully deep orange red, a beautiful sight in the mountains around the small alpine village of Vent.

Location:

The gorges of Rofen near Vent, Oetztal valley, on alpine meadows at 2100m above sealevel.

Literature:

Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: Die Tagfalter Europas und Nordwestafrikas. Stuttgart 1998
Christopher Jonko: Butterflies and Moths of Europe. http://www.lepidoptera.pl/
Walter Sch�n: Schmetterling - Raupe. http://www.schmetterling-raupe.de
Xaver Finkenzeller: Alpenblumen, M�nchen 2003
Fischer, M. A., Adler, W. & Oswald K.: Exkursionsflora f�r �sterreich, Liechtenstein und S�dtirol, Linz 2005

The camera:

SONY DSC-H5, 3072 x 2304 pixel, sRGB, 17mm macro zoom (equivalent 100mm at full size SLR), F/4, 1/320 sec., ISO-125, bias -0.3, hand held, no flash. 19.07.2008, 16:46.

Postwork:

Photoshop Elements, cropped, resized to web, selectively resharpened, background cleaned, levels slighty adjusted.

Thank you for looking.
Have a very good day.

eng55, crs, Argus, flashpoint, Noisette, gracious, Juyona, horia, phlr, loot, valy67, maurydv, jusninasirun, uleko, meyerd, anel, marhowie, Alex99, chrisruth has marked this note useful
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Discussions
Thread	Thread Starter	Messages	Updated
To mohsenishad: Thank you.	peter_stoeckl	1	10-25 02:52
To meyerd: ... napaea auf B�renkraut	peter_stoeckl	1	01-11 03:56
To loot: Thank you - in all languages!	peter_stoeckl	1	01-03 13:44
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Critiques [Translate]

eng55 (5892)
[2008-12-29 7:24]

Hi Peter,
Magnificent macro shot.It's very close and well detailed.Exposure is spot on,focus couldn't be better.POV,sharpness,BG and composition are also excellent.
Have very good day too!
Thanks for posting.

euroblinkie (64279)
[2008-12-29 7:51]

hello Peter

beautiful picture of the butterfly
harp and nice colours

great picture

greeting lou

crs (3551)
[2008-12-29 7:58]

Hello Peter,

This is a very nice close-up of the butterfly. Image quality is excelent showing, not only the pattern ofthe wings, but also the texture. Colors are very well rendered being saturated and naturaly looking. Colors of the wings matches nicely with the background and makes a fine contrast with the flower.

Thank you for sharing,
Cristian

Argus (50626)
[2008-12-29 9:40]

Hello Peter,
An excellent close-wing macro of B. napaea taken from a fine POV with good sharpness and focusing in a nice composition on the composite flower.
I failed to see this species when I was in the Swedish mountains last summer so its extra nice to see this fine image,
Thank you!
Best regards,
Ivan

izler (44)
[2008-12-29 11:44]

merhaba peter
beautiful butterfly and wonderful macro photo
composition, POV, BG, colours and sharpness are great
TFS
regards
izler

flashpoint (28008)
[2008-12-29 11:54]

hello Peter!
the great variety of species in his gallery now also has this beautiful butterfly that I have never seen........
The details of elegant livery
are showing so perfect and very beautiful version of the WS wings open

best regards sERGIO

jignasi (27917)
[2008-12-29 14:03]

Realmente impresionante Peter !
Consigues gran profundidad y sacas buen partido a los colores (como siempre), que por cierto , son maravillosos y adem�s a juego.
Bien encuadrada.
Angulo algo cerrado a mi gusto.

Saludos: Josep Ignasi.

Noisette (7821)
[2008-12-29 14:30]

Hallo Peter
Was am ersten aufallt an diesem Bild sind die wundersch�nen Farben, dann die details am Schmetterling. Mir gef�llt besonders sein haarigen K�rper,
gute Komposition Und BG
jacqueline

nagraj (15166)
[2008-12-29 17:57]

hi peter,
amazingly beautiful fritillary, fine details and colors.
good composition using the flowers and fine contrasting background to show the subtle patterns on its wings. tfs.
nagraj.v

gracious (13068)
[2008-12-29 21:42]

Hello my friend Peter,
Always delighted to see your presentation with excellent quality!
perfect macro on this beautiful Mountain Fritillary with a good pose of it!
the sharpness is amazing with those wonderful colours and details
I enjoyed it with pleasure!
sincere wishing you and family
THE MOST JOYFUL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR2009!!
Tony

Juyona (16891)
[2008-12-30 0:14]

Hola Peter,
excelente macro y detalles
buen foco, colores y pov.
maravillosa definici�n,
saludos Peter,
Feliz 2009

horia (16656)
[2008-12-30 3:47]

Hi Peter

Nice to see you again here, my friend! I hope all is well with you!
This is another very good macro from you!
This Mountain Fritillary is very beautifully presented here - with loads of sharp details, great attention to its texture and splendid natural colors.
I must also appreciate the nice and even BG behind it that makes it stand out so nicely.
Wonderful shot and equally great presentation.

Bravo, TFS and Happy New Year!
Horia

wuta (2142)
[2008-12-30 11:44]

Hello Peter , Splendid composition , great colours and sharpnes , Greetings Teunie .And Very Good 2009 .

joey (24909)
[2008-12-31 16:39]

Hi Peter,
a superb shot of this pretty butterfly.
The vibrant flower adds a nice flash of colour to the shot.
Excellent sharpness.
Well composed.

Very good work!

Happy New Year!

Joe

loot (11276)
[2009-01-01 20:47]
[5] [+]

Hi Peter

Yebo (Zulu), Yes (English - just in case you did not know), Ja (Afrikaans, Dutch, German), Oui (French), Ναι (Greek), S� (Italian, Spanish), Sim (Portuguese), Да (Russian), はい (Japanese)....., but yes in any language still means "YES".
1. Used to indicate agreement.
2. An affirmative response.
3. Used as a mark of attention.
4. Used as a loud exclamation to express jubilation or extreme excitement and pleasure.
5. Used to express consent, etc.

In this case I like #4 and can certainly associate its meaning with my reaction to this fancy female image; "Used as a loud exclamation to express jubilation or extreme excitement and pleasure". I just love it, period.

My best wishes to you and your loved ones for a fabulous 2009.

Well done MF and TFS
Regards
Loot

valy67 (9219)
[2009-01-02 1:14]

Hallo Peter !
Was f�r ein wunderbares Bild haben sir hier ! Hie gef�llt mir absolut alles, von den scharfen Details su den sehr nat�rlichen Farben, aber auch dis Komposition, der POV und, selbstverst�ndlich, der Schm�tterling ist auch sehr sch�n, mit den verschiedenen braunen Faben auf en Fl�gel. Ich liebe auch, wie er so stolz auf der sch�nen Blume sitzt. Vielen Dank une herliche Gr�ssen !
Valerie.

angybone (7684)
[2009-01-02 14:31]

Its wonderful to have you back!
Love the details and sharpness here. Wonderful color, perfect bg/dof - and thank you for reminding us of summer. :)

maurydv (36428)
[2009-01-03 12:33]

Ciao Peter,
meravigliosa macro dai dettagli eccezionali, eccellenti POV e composizione con lo stupendo OOF BG dal colore tenue che contrasta bene con i colori saturi del primo piano.
TFS.
Maurizio

jusninasirun (14660)
[2009-01-03 20:15]

Hi Peter. Your butterfly collection has always been so beautifully captured and the notes are useful. The details and sharpness are brilliant and you have silenced the background pretty well. Colorful and pleasing to look at. Well done and thanks for sharing. Best regards. Jusni

uleko (10940)
[2009-01-04 2:18]

Hello Peter,
A very impressive capture of both the Mountain Fritillary and the beautiful Alpine flower. Both are species I'd love to see! Excellent sharpness and beautiful colours that stand out against the neutral background.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

meyerd (7531)
[2009-01-04 2:32]
[+]

Lieber Peter,
Du bist nie um eine Seltenheit verlegen, aber mit Bolororia napaea auf B�renkraut legst Du noch einen drauf. Wie immer bei Dir ist das Bild auch ein optischer Genuss und der Text voller interessanter Information.

Herzlich gr�sst
Dieter

anel (40574)
[2009-01-04 4:44]

Lieber Peter,
Boloria napaea hab ich noch nie gesehen und mit diesem Bild zeigst Du uns sehr anschaulich, wie sch�n doch dieser Schmetterling ist. Mir gef�llt das feine Gr�n des Hintergrunds in Kontrast zu goldenem Geisskraut und Schmetterling ganz speziell. Sehr malerisches Bild.
Bin froh, dass das Wetter Dir erlaubte, von Licht und Schnee zu profitieren.
Mit herzlichen Gr�ssen
Anne

marhowie (486)
[2009-01-06 19:26]

Hi Peter,
Striking colors in this most pleasing frame.
I like the uniform green of the BG that compliments, and puts all the attention right where it should be..On this beautifully rendered creature :)
Very well done,
Howard

livius (1525)
[2009-01-07 10:18]

Hello Peter
it is truly a beautiful image of nature with very rich colouration: contrast of butterfly particulars is excellent.
Good pose of the Copper on the orange daisy with great sharpness and details on a very soft background for an optimal depth.
Livio

Alex99 (23735)
[2009-01-08 9:32]

Hi, dear Peter.
Amazing pictures of a wonderful butterfly. Both shots give a complete idea of this beauty. It is a pity that one of them is WS. Subject of the original shot, your POV and composition of the image are stunning. Colouration of the butterfly and its fluffy clothes are reflected outstandingly. Fine flower is represented so amazingly. All even tiny details are visible perfectly and very pleasant for look. Breathtaking pictures, My congratulations and TFS.
Alexei.

Mana (18598)
[2009-01-17 8:12]

Hi Peter,
Outstanding shot of this beautiful Mountain Fritillary with such amazing colours and details on its under wings. Immaculate sharpness and superb lighting. The orange flower looks fabulous too as a perch. Excellent POV, DOF and composition.
TFS.
Sumon

mohsenishad (51)
[2009-10-17 6:02]
[+]

Hi Peter
Butterfly is very beautiful.
Color, light, Sharpness are excellent.
Thank you

chrisruth (213)
[2010-01-06 3:35]

Hi Peter

This really is a lovely composition of the butterfly and the flower together.
The color contrast is stricking and very pleasing to the eyes.
I love the fine details of the butterfly hairs and brown/white colors.
Great work:)
It is all STUNNING!

Well done and TFS
Regards
Chris

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Photos: Earth >> Europe >> Austria >> West >> Tyrol >> Vent

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