Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

A few weeks back, I did a morning hike to reach the alpine region. With the goal of seeing the wildflowers and the insects that are attracted to them. On an open slope meadow, just below the tree line, I ended up spending a couple of hours taking pictures of flowers and butterflies. Of course, if I could capture both together, that was even better. Movement had to be slow to avoid scaring away the butterflies I wanted to photograph.

This butterfly in the picture landed on an arnica flower. I got on my knees to get close, but it took to the air. However it did not go far, it ended up landing on top of a fireweed flower a meter away from me. I started taking its pictures, slowly moving closer until I zoomed all the way in and did not need to crop the image later. Once I got the picture I wanted, it was just as important to move back slowly without startling the butterfly. I got back on my feet and started looking for and photographing other flowers and butterflies. A relaxing way to spend the morning.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Around this time of year, it’s so easy to get distracted when outside. There is no better time to observe nature’s diversity in flora and fauna. Providing so many options for subjects to take pictures of. And I am a person who can be easily distracted by nature. I remember coming across a large adult moose when, from the side of my eyes, I saw something in the air. I had to take a break from the moose to have a better look to identify the ducks flying over my head.

 

The other week I was out birding and kept getting distracted by all the insects I was seeing, particularly the butterflies.  With variety and quantity. I came across several meters of wolf willow shrubs, with various insects and several western tiger swallowtail butterflies attracted to their flowers. Birding came to a quick stop as I started taking pictures of the large butterflies. About 15 to 20 minutes in, I noticed another large insect was moving among the flowers. Not one but two hummingbird clearwing moths. Last year I thought I had one in front of me, only to later learn it was a beautiful, white-lined sphinx moth.

 

These clearwing moths have a wingspan that’s up to 5.5 cm long. From a distance, they move around the flowers like hummingbirds do and part of their wings are clear. That’s how they got their name. Unlike many other species of moths, these are active during the day. Making it a lot easier for me to spot them and get all the pictures I needed.

White-lined Sphinx

I was standing among the flowers under the heat, taking pictures of bees, hover flies, butterflies and more. As I was about to pack up and walk away, a large moth came into view. I thought I had my first sighting of a hummingbird moth, later learning it was my sighting of a white-lined sphinx, a moth with an 8 cm long wingspan. With the camera in hand and the moth providing me with about 15 seconds before disappearing, I got all the pictures I wanted.

 

Because of their birdlike size and the way they move, they are sometimes referred to as hummingbird moths. As caterpillars, they are the size of a finger or the gummy worm you enjoy. They eat many different types of plants as caterpillars and pollinate various flowers as adults. As adults, they normally fly before, after and during the nights, but sometimes during the day.  Seeing one in the middle of the day among the wild sunflowers was a nice surprise.

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

Like us, butterflies have their mouthparts where you expect them to be. But they have developed different mouthparts to adapt to their environment and eating habits. They have a long straw-like part called the proboscis. It remains curled up when not being used like a straw. For example, butterflies do not eat but instead suck the nectar from the flower to meet their dietary needs. 

 

Now, where they and other insects differ vastly from us mere humans, is in how they taste their food. They taste their food through their feet. It serves as a taste organ, containing taste receptors. Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera; both are “leg tasters”. Their taste buds, called contact chemoreceptors, are attached to nerve endings. When chemicals come into contact with the chemoreceptors, the nerves are activated, which passes on the information to the brain. The tarsus, which is located furthest away from the body on the leg, is used to sense sweet, bitter, sour, and salty through its chemoreceptors. Not only is this method used to decide what to eat, but it also helps the butterfly choose a mate and where to lay eggs. The closest my legs get to food is if I spill some. From my experience, chocolate always tastes better when it goes straight into the mouth.

Ladybird

It was a hot afternoon and I was on the ground taking pictures of flowers. First from a standing position then getting close and personal. I crawled around and took pictures from different angles while getting wild strawberries stains on my knees and elbows. The insects were trying to crawl on to me, so every few minutes I would knock them off, but when I saw one ladybird/ladybug crawling on the flower, it was time to get its picture.

Until next moment,

Amar

White Admiral Butterflies

Was busy on a sunny afternoon taking pictures of insects amount the flowers, including pictures of these white admiral butterflies. In this case the one in the air kept following the one on the flower. Both did not venture too far from me, so I was able to stay in one spot and kept taking pictures of them. Only moving up or down to get a uncluttered background.

Until next moment,

Amar