Butterfly

Butterfly, Beautiful insects with iridescent wings and has a Latin name of Lepidoptera. Butterfly are always beautiful and captivating, both look and movement. The butterfly is also used as a stunning symbol of metamorphosis. In a change of phase of life (egg-caterpillar-pupa-adult butterfly).Thus, the butterfly is often a source of inspiration and motivation for many people.





Beautiful Butterfly on the Flowers

Brown Ringlet

Brown Ringlet - Hypocysta metirius

I photographed a number of Brown Ringlets while I was up at the Barrington Tops. Since I was out early almost every morning I managed to photograph them while they warmed up in the early morning sun. Due to the fact that they were still "warming up", I was able to get really close to the butterfly. Having the 100-400mm lens on also helped.

More images after the jump.

Brown Ringlet - Hypocysta metirius

The Brown Ringlet is a small butterfly and has a wingspan of around 55mm. I would have liked to get a bit closer to photograph them but was restricted by the minimum focusing distance on the 100-400mm lens. It would have been good to use the 100mm lens to photograph them but I didn't want to missout by going indoors to change the lens,

Brown Ringlet - Hypocysta metirius

I'm not sure how other photographers set about photographing butterflies. Do they approach butterflies once they settle on a plant or do they set up hides and wait for the butterfly to settle? The second option could be time consuming and may lead to people "baiting" the butterflies. I've never baited animals for photography before and I am not too keen to start it now.  What do you guys think?

Brown Ringlet - Hypocysta metirius

All photographs on this post were captured with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Yellow Admiral

Yellow Admiral - Vanessa itea

While we were up at Barrington Tops I managed to photograph a number of species of butterfly. The Yellow Admiral, also known as the Australia Admiral, was probably one of the more colourful butterflies I saw on this particular trip (I'll upload the other species over the next few weeks).  They are native to Australia, New Zealand and the Norfolk Islands.

More photographs inside.

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Yellow Admiral - Vanessa itea

Yellow Admirals are quite common throughout their range as long as their food plants are available. Unfortunately for me, their food plants include stinging nettles which were in abundance near where we stayed. These butterflies are strong fliers and, according to some web sites, have survived wind blown travel from Australia to New Zealand across the Tasman sea.

Yellow Admiral - Vanessa itea

The best time to photograph butterflies is probably early morning as butterflies take a while to "warm up" and get active. I was surprised at how close I was able to get to them to take these photographs. I was actually limited by the minimum focusing distance on the 100-400mm lens which I had on at the time.

Yellow Admiral - Vanessa itea

These photographs were captured with a Canon 7D and the Canon 100-400mm lens.

Lemon Pansy

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Lemon Pansy is a common butterfly found throughout southern Asia. It is the most common of the six pansies found in India. The Lemon Pansy is known to be territorial and aggressive. I came across a number of these butterflies in Anuradhapura and found them quite easy to photograph. Their flight is strong and consist of strong wingbeats with less fluttering.  However, they do spend a fair bit of time perched on shrubs and flowers. More info and images inside.

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Like the Chocolate Soldier,  the Lemon Pansy rests on or close to the ground with it's wings spread. It settles in wet patches on the ground more frequently than other Pansies. When I was photographing these butterflies they were feeding or basking in the warm early morning sunlight. They are a small to medium sized butterfly with prominent "eyespots" on the upper sides of both wings.

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Male Lemon Pansies are known to perch at strategic locations with the aim of intercepting females and inspecting potential mates. It is quite well camouflaged when it sits still with its wings held above its abdomen. The male is known to move into new locations if their current locations are unsuitable.

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

This butterfly loves to feed on Nectar and can frequently be seen settling on shrubs and other small plant's to feed.  During this time it displays the upper sides of its wings. In the evenings they move into thickets and settle on a tall grass stems with their wings folded above their abdomen, to spend the night. It is known to have a typical posture, which it takes when it spreads its wings. As a result a lot of the photographs taken of this species look similar. 

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

I photographed these butterflies in an overgrown plot of land in Anuradhapura. There were a number of large bushes with flowers in bloom and these butterflies were feeding on them. They didn't seem to be too bothered with my presence and I was able to get quite close to photograph them. I had the 100-400mm lens on the 7D and was able to get some frame filling images.

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

A Lemon Pansy photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Chocolate Soldier

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Chocolate Soldier is a common butterfly found in Asia. It is also known as the Chocolate Pansy. These butterflies are territorial and they spend a lot of time close to the ground. I found a number of them in Anuradhapura and they were all, rather surprisingly, within three feet of the ground. More info and images after the jump.

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The wingspan of the Chocolate Soldier is around 5 - 6cm. The depth of the brown colour on the upper-sides of both the male and the female vary. The females can be identified by the white markings on the oblique line on the underside of the hind wing.

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

This butterfly lays its eggs on the ground or on dry twigs in close proximity to host plants. Once the larvae have hatched, they find their way to the host plants. It is unusual that the butterfly does not lay eggs on the host plants themselves. The larvae are a dark, dull brown in colour. 

A Chocolate Soldier photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Surprisingly these butterflies didn't mind my presence as they let me get very close to photograph them. I used the 100-400mm lens on the 7D. I feel I would have been able to get closer to it but was constrained because of the minimum focusing distance on the lens.

Common Tiger

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Common Tiger is a member of the danainae family of butterflies and is found throughout Sri Lanka, India, Burma and extending to South East Asia and Australia. These butterflies look very similar to the Monarch butterfly found in the Americas.  More images and info after the jump.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Common Tiger has a wingspan of around 75 - 95mm and both sexes have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands. Females of this species have a pouch on their hind wings while males have a prominent black and white spot on the underside of their hind wings. In drier areas the tawny part of the butterflies hindwing is paler in colour and resembles a White Tiger.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

This butterfly can usually be found in scrub jungles, fallowland and dry and moist deciduous forests, referring areas with moderate to heavy rainfall. The Common Tiger is a strong flier and it never flies rapidly or high. However it has stronger and faster strokes than the Plain Tiger.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Members of this family are leathery, tough to kill and fake death. They are unpleasant to smell and taste and, as a result, they are soon released by the predators. They also gather toxins from some of the plants they feed on. In order to advertise their unpalatability, they are brightly coloured and have bold markings.

These images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Glassy Tiger

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The Glassy Tiger belongs to the Danaid group of butterflies, which includes crows and Tigers. It's habitat includes India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Burma. Two subspecies have been identified but neither of them are consistent in markings or habitat. More info and images inside.

 

A pair of Glassy Tigers (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The male Glassy Tiger has scent patches on the hind wing. The pouch on vein 1 is larger than the pouch on vein 2 and both pouches are  more visible on the underside than on the upper side. It is a very common butterfly in Sri Lanka and can be found up to an elevation of 5000 feet. It is found all over the island except for the north where it is uncommon. 

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The flight of the Glassy Tiger is very weak and it flaps its wings a lot during flight. it spends most of its time within 5-10 feet of the ground and rarely visits the canopy.  It is often found in the company of other males in the Danaid family, when they gather on plants. The Glassy Tiger frequently visits flowers in the undergrowth for nectar and the male occasionally settles on wet soil.  

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

The Glassy Tiger mimics an unpalatable poisonous species of butterfly and is avoided by birds and lizards. It also has tough leathery skin which helps it survive the occasional attack. When it is attached, it fakes death and oozes a nauseating liquid which makes it smell and taste awful. It also has the ability to recover from an attack very quickly. 

A Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea) photographed in Anuradhapura

Another shot of this butterfly can be found here http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2009/11/glassy-tiger.html

These images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens, in Anuradhapura.

Plain Tiger

The Plain Tiger, also known as the African Monarch, is a common butterfly found throughout Asia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae. It is also supposed to have been one of the first butterflies used in art. A 3500 year old fresco in Luxor features this butterfly and is the oldest known illustration of the species.  More images and info inside.

The Plain Tiger is a medium sized butterfly with a wing span of around 7-8 cm. The male Plain Tiger is smaller than the female but is brighter in colour. This leads me to believe that the butterflies in the first two images are male.

Male Danaines have a number of secondary sexual characteristics. In the case of the Plain Tiger, these include, a pouch on the hind wing and two brush  like organs which can be pushed out of the tip of the abdomen. The pouch of the male is white with a thick black border and bulges slightly. It is a cluster of specialised scent scales used to attract females.

This butterfly is found in any environment including the desert (if there is food available) and up to an elevation of 9000 feet. This butterfly is probably the commonest of Indian butterflies and is a familiar site to almost everyone on the subcontinent. 

The Plain tiger is protected from predators due to the unpalatable alkaloids ingested during the larval stage. Due to this fact the butterflies fly at a leisurely pace in a straight line giving would be predators ample time to identify it and avoid attacking it.  The butterfly has a tough leathery skin to survive occasional attacks. When attacked, it fakes death and oozes a nauseating liquid which makes it smell and taste terrible. The advantage of protection has led to a number of edible butterflies evolving to resemble inedible butterflies. They are referred to as mimics. The resemblance is not limited to colour, shapes and markings but also in behavioural and flight patterns. The Plain tiger is mimicked by the Indian Fritillary and the Danaid Eggfly. The Indian Tamil Lacewing, the Leopard Lacewing and the Common Palmfly have a general resemblance common to both the Plain Tiger and the Common Tiger.

All these images were captured with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I would have been able to get closer to the butterfly but was limited by the minimum focusing distance of the lens.

Common Jezebel

The Common Jezebel is a medium sized pierid butterfly found in many areas of South and Southeast Asia, especially in the non-arid regions of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. More images and info inside.

The wingspan of both males and females range from 6.5cm to 8.5cm. The upper and under sides of the females wing  are similar to the male but the black edging to the veins and the postdiscal transverse bands on both fore and hind wings are much broader than that of the male.

This butterfly is common through most of its range except for the desert tracts, and up to an altitude of 7000 feet. It can be found wherever there are trees, even in towns and cities. The females can be seen flying amongst the trees in search of its food plants, while the males are more frequently observed visiting flowers for nectar or mud-puddling. It rests with its wings closed exhibiting the brilliantly coloured underside.

 

It has bright coloration to indicate the fact that it is unpalatable due to toxins accumulated by the larvae from the host-plants. Like other unpalatable butterflies the Common Jezebel is mimicked by Prioneris sita, the Painted Sawtooth. The Common Jezebel can be distinguished by the shape of the orange red spots on the hind wing. In the Painted Sawtooth these spots are very squarish whereas in the Common Jezebel they are more arrow head shaped. The Painted Sawtooth also flies faster and will also mud puddle.

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delias_eucharis

All the shots on this post have been taken with the Canon 7D and the EF 100-400mm lens. I used an ISO of 400 hoping to utilise a faster shutter speed and minimise the noise. I managed to get within 2 meters of the butterfy tocapture these images. The butterflies were photographed in Anuradhapura, Trincomalee and Colombo. The largest specimens were seen in Trincomalee.

Glassy Tiger

The Glassy Tiger is a common butterfly found at an altitude of up to 5000 feet, over most of the island. More info on the butterfly and the image inside.

Click here for techs.

With a wingspan of 65-80mm it is the slowest of the Danaids. It spends much of its time between 5 and 10 feet and rarely flies up into the canopy. It is the most shade loving of all the Danaids and is frequently seen nectaring on flowers in the undergrowth. It has a chemical defense that protects it against predators. When handled, it plays dead and emits a foul smelling substance. The sexes are similar.

The male has scent patches on the hind wing. The pouch shaped patch on vein 1 is larger than the pouch on vein 2. Both are more swollen and visible on the underside than on the upper side. The markings on the Glassy Tiger are uniformly grey. It is also the smallest butterfly in the group.

The Glassy Tiger is similar to the Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Female Dark Wanderer and the Common Mime.

The fact that it is slow in flight probably helped me when it came to capturing the image above. I followed it as it settled on a number of different flowers until I finally got the shot I was after. I used the 100-400mm lens for this and therefore I didn't have to get too close to it. I came across this butterfly in the middle of the afternoon which is probably the worst time to photograph Butterflies. The best time to photograph them is early morning before they "warm up" in the sun and become more active. Make sure that your shadow does not fall on the subject when you approach it as that tends to disturb them.

I've got more shots of this butterfly at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/04/glassy-tiger.html