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Owl butterflies


Owl butterflies
Photo Information
Copyright: Siegfried Potrykus (neusser0204) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 490 W: 48 N: 1830] (7212)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-09
Categories: Nature
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2009-10-21 2:23
Viewed: 91
Points: 20
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Photographed in the butterfly house.
Owl butterflies, of which there are 21 different species, are members of the genus Caligo, in the family Nymphalidae ( subfamily Morphinae, tribe Brassolini ), and are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Central and South America.
The name is derived from the presence of large "false eyes" ( ocelli ) on the underside of the hindwings. It has been speculated that these eyespots and the general patterning combine to give the butterfly the appearance of an owl, and that this functions to scare smaller birds that may prey on it, but there appears to be no evidence to support this theory. The owl-like appearance is only apparent when the wings are spread flat and viewed from the underside, with both hindwings visible to the viewer, but the butterfly always settles with it's wings closed, showing only one of the eyespots, and does not under these circumstances look remotely owl-like.

It is far more likely that the eyespot acts as a decoy, diverting bird attack away from the vulnerable body, and towards the outer part of the hindwings. This use of decoy eyespots is well documented and used by a large number of butterfly species. These decoys can, as in the Owl butterflies, the Grayling and the Gatekeeper take the form of eyespots; while in other species such as Hairstreaks they can take the form of lines, bright spots or even "false antennae" on the wings, all functioning to divert bird attack away from the butterfly's body.

Owl butterflies are very large, and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place, which is nearly always on a tree trunk. Once settled however the mottled patterning of the butterfly enables it to be superbly camouflaged against the tree trunk, with only the eyespot remaining prominent. Birds do not aim their beaks aimlessly - they try to aim for the body of a butterfly, but when the butterfly is well camouflaged they would aim instead at the most obvious and prominent feature, which in the case of Owl butterflies is the eyespot. This decoy theory is supported by may observations of Owl butterflies that have large chunks taken out of their hindwings ( butterflies are able to fly and go about their lives normally with even quite large chunks missing from their wings ).
(Wikipedia)
parasbhalla, horias, jean11-3, Saba, Derona, jjanczyk has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hallo Siegfried,

Another lovely macro from Owl butterfly with great details! The sharpness is crsip and the POV is perfect. the great contrast between the butterfly's colors and the green leaf, is simply superb. The colors are totally natural and perfectly shown in your work.

Great composition!

Viele Grüße,
Paras

Hello Siegfried,

Excellent macro shot of this amazing beautifull butterfly.
Great sharpness, light, DOF and colors.

Best regards,
Tatjana

Buena imagen de esta mariposa de bonitos dibujos y color captada con gran naturalidad en su ambiente
felicidades
Buen trabajo
un saludo

Siggi
What a great capture!
Very sharp details, lovely colors!
Congratulation!
Horia

Ciao Siggi, splendi TK version too for this wonderful butterfly, grat macro with superb details and splendid sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

Hello Siegfried, another amazing butterfly with incredibly beautiful wing patterns.
The sharpness is excellent as always.
The green leaves contrast well with the brown.
Tfs, regards Jean.

  • Great 
  • Saba Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 609 W: 0 N: 1673] (9439)
  • [2009-10-21 12:32]

Witaj Sigi!

Piekny, fantastyczny, nadzwyczajny!
Czy Ty mowisz "Sezamie otworz sie" i juz gotowy nowy cudny motyl!?
Wspanialy!!!

Moc serdecznosci.
Barbara

Wow fantastic macro shot. Great colors details and focus. congratulation.
Zoran

  • Great 
  • Derona Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 233 W: 147 N: 811] (4866)
  • [2009-10-21 13:15]

Hi Siegfried

Nice shot of this butterfly, shots like this are not easy to achieve, I went to butterfly house earlier this year and did not get many usable shots.
Good focus, lighting and details.
TFS

Regards Derek

Witaj,
Doskonaly kadr!
Perfekcyjna ostrosc, super kolorki.
Swietna kompozycja kadru i ladna prezentacja.
Interesujaca notka.
Pozdrawiam

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