“Hemaris diffinis”: Thank you, MaryBeth!—
First saw this variety of moth this year a day or so ago, but it was gone before I could switch lenses and dash outside. Not so today: thankfully took its sweet time at the butterfly bush while I snapped away. In the magnified version, you can see its proboscis heading down into one of the little flowers. I like how you can see through the wings to the colors below. See:
» http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy/Sphingidae
» http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-diffinis
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...
COOL! I have had to fav too many of your shots lately! But this is such a great find! Isn't he a "Hummingbird Clearwing Moth" though? Not sure, but thought that is what others have said when they posted this type moth. The other photo I saw was taken at a butterfly house, so you are so lucky to see this in your yard! My butterfly bush is not attracting any butterflies! Darn. Anyway...fav!
@espyetta Title change! Doh! And now that I read your comment *AGAIN* -- Thomas! -- I even see you had "hummingbird" in your comment. I guess it's late and it was a hot, windy day on the lake… Even if I was too dense to read carefully, thanks for prompting me to go investigate. (A classroom technique I use in such situations is one I have stolen from a retired colleague: draw a bulls-eye on the blackboard and tap head into center a couple times. Always breaks the tension when the prof has done something really, really wrong!)
@espyetta And with that out-loud chuckle, time to close the lid on this day. See you tomorrow, MaryBeth! And thanks again for all your comments and help!
@rhoing I know! I am tired! Maybe I'll find time to get my pics from the laptop to my main computer, and then post them tomorrow. Today was all about getting my picture files straight on my computer so I can not get into this mess again! And off I go...
You're really on a roll, Thom , with all your beautiful moth and butterfly shots - this one is just gorgeous! Love the way you've managed to get in the fluttering wings. Good thing MaryBeth is keeping you on track! :)
Wow, great shot! I envy people who have the patience to capture such great bird shots, especially hummingbirds! Love the DOF on this, making the bird and the flowers really stand out!
@jillmstruss Thanks so much, Jill! This guy was a challenge to photograph as the wings never stop going, but their ability to hover like a hummingbird is amazing and allows the wing detail to be captured!
@espyetta P.S. Thanks for the fav! Another title change since I discovered quite specifically what this is! See the links above in the description! As one of my observant former students once said to me, "It's all about learning for you, isn't it?" Busted!
@sparkleplenty1@espyetta Thanks, Joyce! I just kept snapping and snapping and fortunately there were several candidates to choose from. MaryBeth is a gem, indeed!
@cjwhite Chasing is right, Carolyn! I think I circled the bush two or three times as this guy flitted from bloom to bloom. With Snowberry Clearwing, I think I finally have this one nailed down now!
@myautofocuslife Check out the links in the description to see where this critter can be found. I hope they *are* in the area where you live and that you get a chance to see one!
@exposure4u Thanks, Wendy! At 250mm and in the shade of the east side of the house after 5 p.m., the dof was going to be a given! How are you still posting and commenting if you've been evacuated???
@ronah Thanks so much, Rona! Actually, this is technically a moth! Check out the second link in the description under the image!
@chamomile Thanks so much, Natalie! And welcome to 365! This is a wonderful community for learning about photography, of course, but also the world around us. I'd be lost identifying some of the butterflies and moths in my posts, but there are lots of folks to help!
@rhoing Thank you for pointing me to the links! I'm going to spend some time looking at the pretty pictures on those sites! I'm not in the U.S.A., I'm actually on the other side of the planet, so it doesn't look like I'm going to see a hummingbird moth if I remain where I am. 8)
@myautofocuslife Ahh. Then this highlights another facet of 365: our opportunity to "travel," electronically as it were, and visit other places with different sights & critters!
@digitalrn Thanks so much, Rick. I felt fortunate to get this good a shot!
@sparkleplenty1 LOL Joyce! I am the blind leading the blind, so I need to be careful when I suggest it might be something else! When posting bird and bug pics, I have been wrong about half the time this past year! Haha!
@rhoing@canoninholster Thom and Greg... if "Lump of Coal" is a "gem" then yes, I am a gem! Haha! Don't mean to be a Debby Downer..just trying to help! haha
@espyetta I'm reading a rather interesting biology book right now (_The Center of Life_, 50¢ at a public library sale) and I've reached the chapter titled "Energy." The author, L.L. Larison Cudmore, points out that it takes nature millions of years to produce coal … rather similar to another carbon product you might find in jewelry stores… :)
@canoninholster Southern Illinois. 300 miles south of Chicago; one hour from Kentucky; about 45 minutes from Missouri. Indeed, the 3 network TV stations come from 3 different states!
@rhoing OMG. Thom. I just got home and started reading this thread...have not finished because I just saw I liked the "earning" part too. I meant LEARNING! I hope you figured that out!
@rhoing@canoninholster First off, Greg, I had no clue who Billy Joe Shaver was. I don't know how I missed him..I just looked up the song Thom said, "I"m gonna live forever" and am IN LOVE with it! Will be buying that and some more of his stuff. And Greg...what did I say to make you think of Billy JOe Shaver? :0)
@rhoing@canoninholster Odd caterpillar...shaped like a big juicy green hornworm, but brown and with texture of some pear skin or something. Thom, unless I am wrong on this one, you know the " horn" is not on the front...right?! It's a butt horn I guess! Haha!
@xtech I need more "material," though! I'm seeing the same types now!
@psychographer Uh, "yes." That is, it's both. My subject never stopped flying or hovering and the wings do have a rapid "wingbeat." If you click on the second link in my description, repeated here, http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-diffinis
look at the second (middle) image to the right of the text. There you'll find a photo of one of these amazing guys at rest!
@angeliquenordal Thanks so much for the fav, Angelique! I was pretty excited that this one turned out as well as it did! As a matter of technique, this was not a "macro" shot per se. I would call it a "zoomed" shot: I had the T2i's 55–250mm lens zoomed out to its maximum of 250mm. This hummingbird moth certainly would *not* have let me get as close as a true "macro lens" would have required!
@rhoing ~~Thanks Thom! I am learning the techniques and I really do appreciate the explanation of the how the shot was taken. I see lots of wonderful photos but don't always know how they are done.
@angeliquenordal Underneath the 2x4 array of images at the top of every post are a bunch of links. One of them is "Exif". Click on "View Info" to see if the Exif info is still intact. For example, on this one, you'll see my shutter speed was .0025 sec, aperture was f6.3 and focal length was 250mm. The focal length here tells you that the close-up aspect of the posted image was a zoomed telephoto type lens rather than a macro. For my Harnessed moth: exposure = 0.01 sec (1/100), aperture = f5.6, ISO = 2000 and focal length = 55 mm. In that case, it was a true close up and possibly a macro lens. (In my case, I don't have a true macro lens -- about $300; I use a set of close-up filters for my true close-up shots. Hope this helps!
love it
good job
@espyetta P.S. Thanks for the fav! Another title change since I discovered quite specifically what this is! See the links above in the description! As one of my observant former students once said to me, "It's all about learning for you, isn't it?" Busted!
@canoninholster @espyetta Thanks, Greg. It was MaryBeth who clued me in to "skippers" a couple/few weeks ago, http://365project.org/espyetta/album-3/2012-06-07, and that helped "learn me" a lot about butterflies and moths this summer!
@cjwhite Chasing is right, Carolyn! I think I circled the bush two or three times as this guy flitted from bloom to bloom. With Snowberry Clearwing, I think I finally have this one nailed down now!
@glendq Thank you very much!
@exposure4u Thanks, Wendy! At 250mm and in the shade of the east side of the house after 5 p.m., the dof was going to be a given! How are you still posting and commenting if you've been evacuated???
@chamomile Thanks so much, Natalie! And welcome to 365! This is a wonderful community for learning about photography, of course, but also the world around us. I'd be lost identifying some of the butterflies and moths in my posts, but there are lots of folks to help!
@digitalrn Thanks so much, Rick. I felt fortunate to get this good a shot!
@psychographer Uh, "yes." That is, it's both. My subject never stopped flying or hovering and the wings do have a rapid "wingbeat." If you click on the second link in my description, repeated here, http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hemaris-diffinis
look at the second (middle) image to the right of the text. There you'll find a photo of one of these amazing guys at rest!