Butterfly Discussion Forums - General Discussion Forum

Butterfly Discussion Forums - General Discussion Forum http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums Discuss anything and everything about butterflies and moths here. en Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:47:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://butterflycircle.com/forums/images/greenzero/misc/rss.jpg Butterfly Discussion Forums - General Discussion Forum http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums Arhopala athada? http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10333&goto=newpost Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:29:30 GMT Horace, this Arhopala that we shot today intrigues me, in that the post-discal band is dislocated. All the shots of the Vinous Oakblue in your blog article (http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2008/04/life-history-of-arhopala-athada-athada.html) shows that this band is not dislocated. The... Horace, this Arhopala that we shot today intrigues me, in that the post-discal band is dislocated. All the shots of the Vinous Oakblue in your blog article shows that this band is not dislocated.

The other characteristic markings on the hindwing seem to match Vinous Oakblue though. Are you aware of any similar Arhopala that is not athada that sports this dislocated spot in the postdiscal band? :thinking:

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]]> General Discussion Forum Commander http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10333 THE AMERICAN LADY (Vanessa virginiensis) http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10262&goto=newpost Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:01:03 GMT Colleagues:

Today the temperature was hot (above 95 F/35 Celsius) and humid. I managed to stay out in the sun for about an hour, slowly walking around several bushes bustling with activities. I found an old friend, the gray hairstreak (I'll discuss them in a later posting) when an American Lady fluttered in and stayed for about 20 minutes posing exclusively for me (nobody else was out in that heat!).

The American Lady is found throughout the southern half of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. These butterflies fly south where it is warmer in the winters, which can get quite harsh here. It can be identified by the two large eyespots on the hindwing. It tends to keep it's wings together when feeding, but sometimes opens them briefly. I've included one shot (for demonstration only as the quality is poor) showing what the open wing looks like.

I'm not sure what conditions are in Singapore, but if you do your photography when the temperatures soar over 35C and the humidity is high, you have added to my respect for your great work.

I used my Nikon D700 with a 105mm flash and the Nikon ringflash system set to TTL, but not a minus EV setting (if anyone knows how to set that in the Command Mode, let me know). It was very bright out so I also experimented by using available light only. The plus was that I could move in closer without scaring the subject. The negative was that shadows became an issue because of the bright sun vs dark shade. The ringflash helped with the shadows.

I hope the membership still finds these posts of non-Singapore species interesting.

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]]> General Discussion Forum WillFolsom http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10262 The SACHEM (Atalopedes campestris) http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10260&goto=newpost Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:54:17 GMT Sachems are one of the skippers found just about anywhere you look in Virginia and many other parts of the southern United Sates... from coast to coast. They are very active in July, August, and September when just about any skipper you see is a Sachem. These are grass skippers and their hosts... Sachems are one of the skippers found just about anywhere you look in Virginia and many other parts of the southern United Sates... from coast to coast. They are very active in July, August, and September when just about any skipper you see is a Sachem. These are grass skippers and their hosts include Crab grass, Bermuda grass, and other grasses found in many lawns in America. The Sachem is one of the orange skippers (perhaps golden orange is more appropriate). It is an active butterfly, constantly fighting rivals, attempting to mate, or hopping from one flower to another. Fortunately, they are so many of them that you can switch from one to another in a matter of seconds. I've included a sample of a male (vertical) and a female Sachem (horizontal).

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]]> General Discussion Forum WillFolsom http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10260 THE COMMON BUCKEYE (Junonia coenia) http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10256&goto=newpost Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:11:54 GMT I had some good luck this morning. Spotted and photographed my first Red-banded hairstreak of the year... then photographed some skippers. I'll post images of these butterflies in a later session.

As I was leaving I spotted a common buckeye in the front walkway to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens where I do much of my photography. After an initial back and forth it seemed to accept me and settled down for some nectaring. Pretty common throughout the southern part of the United States. It likes open fields and gardens. It's large eyespots makes it easy to see and to identify. It also has orange bars across it's forewing and near the wing margins.

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	BUCKEYE1.JPG (84.7 KB)
	BUCKEYE2.JPG (76.7 KB)
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]]> General Discussion Forum WillFolsom http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10256