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*Caterpillar-attack*


*Caterpillar-attack*
Photo Information
Copyright: Thor Thor (thor68) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 412 W: 117 N: 762] (4536)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-06-13
Categories: Nature
Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Sigma EX 105mm F2.8 DG Macro, Sandisk Ultra II 2GB, Hoya 58mm Skylight
Exposure: f/9.0, 1/160 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Cool Bugs 2!! [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-06-15 1:34
Viewed: 409
Points: 16
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Last week I found a whole bunch of pretty caterpillars
in the garden at work, but I had no idea which species
this could be....thanks to Mike the ID was found -
these are larvae from the Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae).


it was really fun to play with the macro lens again and
afterwards with photoshop - brightness and contrast were
turned up a bit.


Thanks & have a great sunday! :-)


****************************

The Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae)
is a brightly coloured arctiid moth, found in Europe and
western and central Asia. It has been introduced into
New Zealand, Australia and North America to control
poisonous ragwort, which its larvae feed on. The moth is
named after the red mineral cinnabar because of the red
patches on its predominantly black wings. Cinnabar
moths are about 20mm long and have a wingspan of 32-42
mm.

Cinnabar moths are day-flying insects. Like many other
brightly coloured moths, it is unpalatable; The larvae
use members of the genus Senecio as foodplants. Many
members of the genus have been recorded as foodplants
but for long term population success the presence of the
larger species such as ragwort is needed. Smaller plant
species such as groundsel are sometimes used but since
the species is lays its eggs in large batches survival
tends to be reduced. The larvae absorb bitter tasting
alkaloid substances from the foodplants, and assimilate
them, becoming unpalatable themselves. The bright
colours of both the larvae and the moths act as a
warning sign so that they are seldom eaten by predators.

Like several other Arctiidae moth larvae, the Cinnabar
caterpillars can turn cannibalistic. This can be due to
lack of food, but they can eat other Cinnabar larvae for
no apparent reason. Females lay up to 300 eggs, usually
in clusters of 30 to 60. Initially the larvae are pale
yellow but later larval stages develop the jet black and
orange/yellow striped colouring. They feed
ravenously and can grow up to 30mm. Cinnabar
caterpillars are voracious eaters and large populations
can strip entire patches of ragwort clean, a result of
their low predation.

Very few often survive to the pupae stage mainly due to
them completely consuming the food source before
reaching maturity, this could be a possible explanation
for their tendency to engage in seemingly random
cannibalistic behaviour, as many will die from
starvation.

[from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar_moth]

****************************
Name der gespeicherten Datei IMG_8493.JPG
Kameramodell Canon EOS 40D
Aufnahmedatum/-zeit 13.06.2008 08:56:17
Aufnahmemodus Verschlusszeitenautomatik
Tv (Verschlusszeit) 1/160
Av (Blendenzahl) 9.0
Messmodus Mehrfeldmessung
Belichtungskorrektur 0
Filmempfindlichkeit (ISO) 125
Objektiv 105mm
Brennweite 105.0 mm
Bildgröße 2592x3888
Bildqualität Fein
Blitz Aus
Weißabgleich Automatisch
AF-Betriebsart Manuelle Fokussierung
Bildstil Landschaft
Schärfe 4
Kontrast 0
Farbsättigung 0
Farbton 0
Farbraum sRGB
Rauschreduzierung bei Langzeitbelichtung 1:Automatisch
High ISO Rauschreduzierung 1:Eingeschaltet
Tonwert Priorität 0:Ausgeschaltet
Dateigröße 1663 KB
Transportart Reihenaufnahme mit geringer Geschwindigkeit
wieyos, c_rapp, inaam, mortcdz has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Immo: :-)thor68 1 06-15 02:34
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Immo (4)
  • [2008-06-15 2:10]
  • [+]

TEUFEL, DAS IST GUT!
Thorsten,
Excellent composition, good crop, good everything! I just have to keep looking at the photograph.
Well Done!
(I Think they are Cinnabar Larva [tyria jacobaeae])

  • Great 
  • sela Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 479 W: 1 N: 472] (3756)
  • [2008-06-15 2:58]

HI Thorsten, das ist ja wirklich eine hammerstarke Aufnahme, Glückwunsch! Beste Bearbeitung! Schön, wieder was von dir zu sehen. Schönen Sonntag wünsche ich dir.
LG Rose

Hi,
Man muss Glueck haben, solche Szene fotografieren zu koennen. Ich habe ein aehnliches Foto, aber nicht so attraktiv
Gratulationen
Ryszard

Hi Thor,

on the thumbnail the caterpillars 'twist' looks like a DNA structure.

superb macro on the beautiful & colourful caterpillars. excellent detail & sharpness. very well done.

TFS
Regards
Agoes

What a cool capture and great pp work added. Very cool pov TFS
Christan

  • Great 
  • inaam Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1719 W: 5 N: 389] (1376)
  • [2008-07-08 7:12]

Hallo Thor,

You have beautifully taken shot. The colors are charming and fine details has enhanced the beautity of this image. Excellent picture my friend, well done.

Thanks for sharing this image.

Really striking picture - the sharp details of the caterpillers is great and they stand out perfectly against the white bg. Superb PP combined with a great photo to create a great picture.
Thanks for sharing
Mark

  • Great 
  • tet Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 393 W: 39 N: 196] (3625)
  • [2008-10-14 3:01]

good composition throten. i like the colored stripes of the catterpillars!

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