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Knot-horn Moth "Phycitinae" I never thought I was going to get a particular interest in moths, but that's the kind of thing that macro photography does to you. I find them so elegant and I would even say majestic in their postures and behaviour. Geotagged,Knot-horn moth,Macro,Moth,Phycitinae,Portugal,Summer,insect,summer Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Knot-horn Moth "Phycitinae"

I never thought I was going to get a particular interest in moths, but that's the kind of thing that macro photography does to you. I find them so elegant and I would even say majestic in their postures and behaviour.

    comments (12)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
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    Love this shot, Flavio! Posted 2 months ago
    1. View Flavio's profile
      Flavio
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      I'm so glad you like it Ferdy, I love it too! :-) Posted 2 months ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
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        I will make effort to make you a moth addict :)

        Moths are a popular category on JungleDragon. Since 2018, we join the yearly moth week (which is organized outside of JungleDragon):

        435Moth Week 2018

        339Moth Week 2019

        382Moth Week 2020

        426Moth Week 2021

        It's a way to boost moth observations, and it's lots of fun. It's fairly easy to do, just a white sheet and the proper lamp. You should definitely consider joining next season, and we can help with tips. I don't think we have a lot of moths from Portugal, so it would be really interesting.

        You won't go back once you're in the game.

         Posted 2 months ago, modified 2 months ago
        1. View Flavio's profile
          Flavio
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          WOW! That's an amazing iniciative, I hope it doesn't attract mosquitoes too, they love my blood! :-P Posted 2 months ago
          1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
            Ferdy Christant
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            It does attract a lot of other types of insects, which in most cases I consider a good thing, as we'll just photograph those as well. And as much as I hate mosquitos, it doesn't mean they're not interesting:

            Mosquito larvae and pupae lifecycle - extreme macro, Heesch, Netherlands Here's a prime example of a pretty bad idea achieving a goal I didn't even know I had. Or let's just call it luck.<br /> <br /> In another post, Christine encouraged me to look for mosquito eggs/larvae in still waters. So I took the lazy approach, one of my two small ponds in the garden is in the shade and wind-free, and I actually found some there. <br /> <br /> I just poured some of them into a glass. That was the easy part. Next, extreme macro poses a huge challenge here since the water moves, subjects move, which again causes the water to move. Surely the scene isn't static enough to do a deep stack, which typically takes at least 5 minutes to run and require the subject to not even move by 1 mm, or even 0.1mm.<br /> <br /> Out of desperation to at least capture something, I went for it anyway, and the outcome I think is pretty hilarious. To describe what's going on:<br /> <br /> - There's 3 larvae in the scene. One is in the bottom half of the image swimming around, the stack process creating multiple exposures of its movement.<br /> <br /> - The other 2 larvae are attached to the water surface. They use siphon tubes to breath, hanging upside down. You can see the multiple exposures hinting at their movement when attached.<br /> <br /> - There's 1.5 pupae in the scene, the big creature hanging upside down. In this phase it doesn't feed yet it's not immobile. When disturbing the water, it instantly sinks to the bottom. And back up again when it's safe.<br /> <br /> - In the top right is a single water flea interacting with a mosquito larva.<br /> <br /> This entire scene is just about 1cm wide, a tiny section of a glass. As a casual observation, in the few hours I was busy with this glass, 3 pupae transformed into adults and flew away. <br /> <br /> More to come later :) Culex pipiens,Extreme Macro,The Netherlands

            Culex pipiens - pupa 3, Heesch, Netherlands After my lucky 2.5:1 experiment found here:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/96840/mosquito_larvae_and_pupae_lifecycle_-_extreme_macro_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> ...I figured to keep pushing my luck and try a bigger magnification (4x) as well as stronger direct lighting. With a relatively static pupa taking up more of the image, there's less space for its chaotic surroundings. Due to movement in the water itself, the first 2 attempts failed, as the pupa also moved. This is the 3rd try, which I find acceptably sharp given difficult conditions. <br /> <br /> All 3 images are derived from the same single image, just different rotations, crop and post processing in an attempt to show detail in different ways. <br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/96950/culex_pipiens_-_pupa_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/96947/culex_pipiens_-_pupa_2_heesch_netherlands.html Culex pipiens,Extreme Macro,Extreme Macro Portraits,WeMacro

            Chironomus sp. extreme macro, frontal, Heesch, Netherlands https://www.jungledragon.com/image/94562/midge_extreme_macro_side_view_heesch_netherlands.html Extreme Macro,Extreme Macro Portraits,WeMacro

            Hope you can still sleep at night hehe.             Posted 2 months ago, modified 2 months ago
  3. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
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    Fantastic photo, Flavio! That is a very smart moth to pose like that ;). Posted 2 months ago
    1. View Flavio's profile
      Flavio
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      Thank you Christine, I only spotted this Moth because I saw something flying and then chase it until it stopped on this plant. Otherwise it would be very difficult to see such a well disguised being ^_^ Posted 2 months ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
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        A lucky encounter! Posted 2 months ago
  5. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
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    Today's Facebook post:

    Moths are masters of camouflage. Many of them fantastically blend in with their surroundings thanks to their patterns and coloration.

    To add to the illusion, they actively choose a spot to rest that makes them invisible to predators! They carefully choose the posture and location that they think best helps them to remain unseen. The question remains: How do they know to do this?!

    {Photo credit: Flavio, Portugal} #JungleDragon #mothcamouflage

    https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife
     Posted 2 months ago
    1. View Flavio's profile
      Flavio
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      Uau, thank you very much for sharing my photo ^_^ Posted 2 months ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
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        You're welcome, Flavio! I have been wanting to share one of your photos for awhile, but couldn't choose, lol! You have so many good ones! Posted 2 months ago
        1. View Flavio's profile
          Flavio
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          I'm honored by your kind words Christine, thank you! Posted 2 months ago

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By Flavio

All rights reserved
Uploaded Sep 17, 2021. Captured Aug 10, 2021 08:09 in Unnamed Road, 8005-411 Estói, Portugal.
country flag of Portugal Explore Portugal 1,582 733 0
  • X-T20
  • f/1.0
  • 1/180s
  • ISO400
  • 100mm
Captured in the summer. More summer photos.

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