"Leptosia nina", the psyche, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae and is found in Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and Australia. The upper forewing has a black spot on a mainly white background. The flight is weak and erratic and the body of the butterfly bobs up and down as it beats its wings. They fly low over the grass and the butterfly rarely leaves the ground level.
Similar species: Moths And Butterflies
By Vodkaman
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Uploaded May 3, 2016. Captured Jul 22, 2012 10:50 in Jl. Lavender No.8, Ciwaruga, Parongpong, Kabupaten Bandung Barat, Jawa Barat, Indonesia.
comments (4)
The interesting thing that can be learned from this image, is the explanation of the flight. Combine this image with the link to the combo image:
You can see that the abdomen swings as a counter balance. Also, in the combo image, you can see that the extension of the wing is full, and the butterfly uses this extension continuously, giving it that laborious, lolloping action. Not all butterflies do this except for take-off, were it provides maximum lift.
Other butterflies only use about 30 degrees of extension and use the created vortex on the upstroke. There are other butterflies that use the full down stroke and follow that with a fixed wing glide.
There is a lot to be observed in butterfly flight. BUT, no matter how clumsy the flight looks, the flight is extremely precise and very controlled, as well as any other flying insect. I have watched these butterflies successfully navigate through holes in a series of spider webs, were the slightest mistake would have been certain death.
I will write an article on bug flight one day, it is a very interesting and enlightening subject. Bug flight theory shows how little we know about aerodynamics.
Dave Posted 9 years ago
Edit - incorrect. I misinterpreted the image.
The combo shot is a rapid fire assembly.
Dave Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago