Wing detail of Pieris napi (2nd image added)

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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Planapo
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Wing detail of Pieris napi (2nd image added)

Post by Planapo »

Image

Hmm, I am not sure whether I like it or not. I wanted to have a bit more depth and relief by shadows and highlights, and thus haven't diffused the light much. But now the dark scales show that golden-brownish glittering, and overall it reminds me of a cowhide.* :?

But then who knows how such structures are supposed to look under such light and magnification. :-k

--Betty

*
(I mean not something where the cow could hide inside but its fur, see what I mean, ah I should better go and get some sleep now. :lol:)
Last edited by Planapo on Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

Aynia
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Post by Aynia »

I quite like this one. It seems like I'd like to stroke the butterfly.. just like I would a cat!! ( :shock: )

Franz Neidl
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Post by Franz Neidl »

Hallo Planapo,

congratulations for your excellent picture.
When I see the scares of butterfluys I have always to think about roof tiles. With your picture I have a little problem: I think this roof can never work correctly. Is it possible to invert the direction of the roof tiles? (with other words: to invert the photograph).

Dont thake my problem too seriously. I would be happy if I could make such nice pictures!

Franz

Cyclops
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Post by Cyclops »

Great shot! Pieris eh,thats one of the White butterflies isn't it?
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Planapo
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Post by Planapo »

Aynia, Franz, Larry, Thanks for your appreciation, lassie 'n lads! :D

Aynia, look how velvety he appears on that second photo that I´ve added! I can perfectly understand that one wants to stroke him, though I can tell you he would loose scales like mad. :wink:

Franz, Habe die Ehre und Grüß Gott! :D Having seen your great shots of diatoms I'm sure you can shoot butterfly scales as well, at least after a while reading here aboard.

Larry, Yes it´s one of the family Pieridae, but unlike some other species of the genus this one, to my knowledge, isn´t synanthropic and tends not to feed on the cabbage or krauts :) in our gardens. Btw, no animal was killed for these shots, I found him as roadkill when I was on a bicyle tour last year.

Now, here is a second shot of the wing, less magnified but I like the graphic features better.

Hope you enjoy,
Betty

Image

edit typo: unlike and not unless, of course! Thanks Rik! :D
Last edited by Planapo on Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Betty, an excellent picture and thank you for the new word! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanthrope).

I think you meant "unlike some other species...", probably thinking of Pieris rapae, the Small White? (We here on the other side of the pond call that one the European Cabbage Butterfly, a bit of honor for its homeland. :wink: )

In his article about Pieris napi in "The Butterflies of Cascadia", Robert Pyle writes that
Authors have alleged for decades that our native species of Pieris have retreated as a direct result of competitive exclusion by introduced Cabbage Whites. There's no doubt that some have diminished. But research by Francie Chew has shown conclusively that Cabbage Whites are tolerant of anthropogenic conditions, while the native whites have withdrawn before development and agriculture; and that some introduced crucifers attract oviposition, but prove lethal to larvae. Thus [European] Cabbage butterflies have become a scapegoat for habitat displacement brought about by people.
I bring this up periodically because it is such a good example of the difficulties of figuring out not only what is connected to what, but how?

--Rik

Added: "Cascadia" describes an area of the U.S. Pacific Northwest that includes all of Washington and Oregon, and the bordering regions of other states and Canada. It is named for the Cascade Mountains, which run north/south through the middle of the region.

NikonUser
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Post by NikonUser »

Pieris napi (or more accurately Artogeia napi) does not occur in North America
SEE HERE.

One problem caused by invasive species such as the European Cabbage White is that these species can get very common. This may allow for the parasitoids of the native species of Pierids to vastly increase their population density (more hosts=more babies). Now if the native species are normally at a low density (a possible strategy for reducing parasitism, or a consequence of parasitism) the great increase in the density of parasitoids may have a detrimental effect on native species.
NU.
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rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

NikonUser wrote:Pieris napi (or more accurately Artogeia napi) does not occur in North America
SEE HERE.
True. To be very precise, the stuff I quoted is from the section on Pieris marginalis, listed by Pyle as "Aka Artogeia, napi," and a bunch of common names. Pyle also comments that "Long considered part of the Eurasian Green-veined White (P. napi), the West Coast/Rocky Mountain assemblage is one of several to be separated out as full species." I really shouldn't have taken the shortcut.

About Artogeia versus Pieris, I haven't followed the controversy. The link that you give uses Pieris, and references this article: "Why Pieris rapae is a better name than Artogeia rapae(Pieridae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 40(2):79-92."

Good point about the parasitoids -- yet another difficulty in figuring out how everything fits together.

--Rik

Planapo
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Post by Planapo »

Thanks Rik, NU for your comments.

NU wrote:
Pieris napi (or more accurately Artogeia napi)
Concerning the validity of the name: I've come across Artogeia napi too, but Pieris napi seems to be the valid one. (Well, at least at the moment, we know how taxonomists sometimes split, lump and then split again some genera.:roll: )

http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=84779

http://www.pieris.ch/diagnostik/s_napi_01.html

The second link leads to an elaborate website with lots of good photos worth clicking around. Scrolling down that page on P. napi shows how variable this taxon is.

Rik asked:
... probably thinking of Pieris rapae, the Small White?
Yes, I was thinking of P. rapae, that can seriously affect the pretty large local cabbage farming industry, if not controlled. Sometimes I find P. rapae around the house ovipositing on our Tropaeolum majus, plants of South American origin, not even Brassicacea.

--Betty

Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Betty,

Missed this post earlier. Excellent!

For someone who really likes the technical "nitty-gritty" you're a little sparse on the details of how it was illuminated, and which optic you selected from your huge lens arsenal. :wink: :wink:

Planapo
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Post by Planapo »

Ah… at last... , the master notices the efforts of his humble apprentice! :wink: :D

Here the details:
#1
Two fibre light guides, not too strongly diffused with several layers of translucent PE foil, light temperature 2900 K. 14 images with CZP, Do stack. Reversed Tevidon 1.4/25 mm at f/4
#2
Same lighting as #1. 17 images, CZP, Do stack. Reversed EL-Nikkor 2.8/50 mm at f/5.6

That first one hasn´t worked out nicely, I think. Maybe it was the lighting or I´ve made the gaps between the images too large that then caused trouble with the stacking process. I have to get to know the software better. Until now I’ve only used the default settings.
But I like the outcome of #2.

"...your huge lens arsenal..."
Who? Me?! 8-[ ... Shush! :oops:
It´s not a lens "arsenal", it´s an asylum for callously (and very cheaply \:D/) thrown away neglected glass of former glory that I’ve virtually felt my duty to rescue. O:) :wink:

Thanks Charlie! :D

--Betty

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