Caper White Butterfly’s Sharp Whites and Blacks Remind Me of a Tux-Wearing Gentleman

Posted March 28, 2013

The Caper White Butterfly’s sharp whites and blacks reminded me of a gentleman, who is of the ‘1%’ and now in his tux and spiffy whites, has landed briefly at a fashionable bar in a fashionable hotel in a fashionable side of town. Other Anaphaeis Aurora sport slightly dated tuxes and slightly faded whites, but not our Caper White. He’s come to Binyamina to display his prowess and big-screen good looks.

Caper Whites are good subjects to photograph. When sipping on nectar from the Camphor weed, they pose briefly showing their left-side, then their right-side, and lastly, their dorsal wing surface. They might even show off their ventral (under) surface. Predictably, ten or so photographic exposures will be tolerated by the butterfly, and then it will shift position. It was a joy to capture not one, but two groups of exposures after chasing a whole bunch of Israeli butterflies (e.g., False Apollo, Plain Tiger and Large White) without a worthwhile image to show for it.

The population of Caper Whites in distant Ein Gedi was by comparison, very easily spooked and not easy to photograph. None of my Anaphaeis Aurora images down there at the Dead Sea warranted posting on this blog. So it goes.

Why then have we posted only males? The female butterflies were skittish. Nearly all left when I made my patented approach. Hmmm.

So here populations behave differently and gender behavior differed. Interesting?

Jeff

Residing in Israel’s Wadi David at Ein Gedi, this is One Dedicated Butterfly

Posted March 22, 2013

Filed under Blue-Spotted Arab, Ein Gedi, Israel

This is our fourth post of Colotis Phisadia, otherwise known as a Blue-Spotted Arab Butterfly. Hours of travel and three mornings of dedicated pursuit yielded a good result. Residing in Wadi David at Ein Gedi, this is one dedicated butterfly.

The Blue-Spotted Arab Butterfly has spent much of this morning making his rounds, never flying too far from his starting point. In full rich color, he patiently waits for the opportunity to display his primacy and his genetic finery to potential mates.

The Wadi David at Ein Gedi was bone-dry. It’s inevitable that at some point we pause and ask, “How do these butterflies satisfy their need for water?” The sky drizzled rain drops the next morning, for just about five minutes.

For those of you who haven’t yet seen the three other posts of Blue-Spotted Arab’s, we photograph with a Macro Lens, using a hand-held camera. This is one tough butterfly to approach, especially in the Wadi. Our images were the result of much negotiation. The butterfly allowed us to approach within four feet, and we agree not to come one inch closer. A successful negotiation in the Middle East. Good.

Jeff

Photolog : A Sunday morning with Butterflies (carraccar.wordpress.com)

Azanus Jesous Butterfly on a Dry Wildflower Stalk in Western Israel

Posted March 20, 2013

Filed under Azanus jesous, Binyamina, Israel, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers

The butterfly flew onto a dry wildflower stalk, just several feet to my left. She was tiny, and she was all decked out. The butterfly caught my eye immediately, as I am now trained to notice wing movement. I am also wired to note unique butterflies.

With her coffee colored wings, the Greek Offshore islands blue coloring, the spot on each forewing, her perky posture, the milk-white outer edges of wing, and that richly shaded body with it clown-like abdomen, who could not appreciate this siren, posing on a farm road in Binyamina, Israel?

What butterfly species was she? Field guides are just to heavy to lug into the bush, but now we know that she is a female Azanus Jesous.

Found in western Israel, Gaza, northern Israel and the western and southern shores of the Sinai Peninsula, this example is an especially fresh example. Good. Ah, such successful fieldwork.

Jeff

Female Blue-Spotted Arab Butterfly in an Exotic Habitat

Posted March 18, 2013

Filed under Blue-Spotted Arab, Ein Gedi, Israel, Native Plants and Flowers, Wildflowers

The Colotis Phisadia males have been already been posted. Happily, we can introduce this female Blue-Spotted Arab Butterfly. You might be wondering about the wildflower she is sitting on. It’s not known.

In my travel, males were much more numerous and available for photographing than females. The males spent many more hours flying and resting. She has different goals. Her primary one is eating nectar. We discussed how skittish this species is. It’s well and good that this one allowed a moderate approach by a photographer.

Females show a more pronounced yellow. Of the photographs we took, we prefer this image, with its display of both ventral and dorsal wing.

I miss those December mornings at Ein Gedi. Like any exotic habitat that you are lucky enough to visit, you never know what you’ll see one minute to the next. How do you know when you are so blessed? You know because you find yourself frequently checking what time it is, reluctantly acknowledging that morning is quickly slipping away. In the afternoon, there’s way too much sun to capture images of winged beauties.

Jeff

Female Butterflies Can Sniff Out Inbred Males (blogs.smithsonianmag.com)

Blue-Spotted Arab Butterflies Loathe Being Approached by a Person with a Camera

Posted March 17, 2013

Filed under Blue-Spotted Arab, Ein Gedi, Israel

Our second post to-date of Colotis Phisadia in Wadi David at Ein Gedi, Israel. He has spent a good deal of time scouring his tight territorial perimeter for suitable female mates, and he’s now taking a brief rest.

Followers of wingedbeauty.com will now understand that Blue-Spotted Arabs are loathe to be approached. Are they skittish? Yes. So with 3 mornings of photography fieldwork, this is the dorsal (upper) exposure that I will share with you.

Is he flying in an oasis? Sounds like a dreamy existence. Don’t we often view television and video commercials teasing us with the vices of oasis life: drink, sun, and sensuality? Our boy butterfly doesn’t quite seem to have it that good. Nevertheless, he looks pretty handsome, well nourished, and content that he doesn’t have to spend a $$$ ransom to travel to his Wadi from the U.S. or Brazil or the U.K. or Tokyo or Sydney.

They sure gave them a name, didn’t they?

For our followers, 2013 will be a fine year. I am looking forward to photographing butterflies from the National Butterfly Center near the Texas/Mexican border, and if the military situation doesn’t change, from Israel’s northern-most part of Golan– plus a surprise or two.

Good.

Jeff