Grayling
Grayling / hipparchia semele. Dunwich Forest, Suffolk. 23/07/20.
'THE MASTER OF DISGUISE.'
Graylings are often described as masters of disguise. These mainly coastal butterflies can be difficult to detect once they've landed.
In flight they can appear larger, but once perched have a habit of lowering their closed forewings behind their hindwings. On doing this they hide two large black eye spots and become less noticeable. Should they sense something moving nearby, they flick their forewings upwards quickly. Any would-be predator gets tricked into thinking it's being watched and usually moves off.
I photographed this stationary Grayling close to, from a position where some light was striking it. This helped define it and show it's mottled underwing markings and colour tones. However, when viewed from other angles it became almost undetectable and blended in perfectly with the stony track.
Grayling
Grayling / hipparchia semele. Dunwich Forest, Suffolk. 23/07/20.
'THE MASTER OF DISGUISE.'
Graylings are often described as masters of disguise. These mainly coastal butterflies can be difficult to detect once they've landed.
In flight they can appear larger, but once perched have a habit of lowering their closed forewings behind their hindwings. On doing this they hide two large black eye spots and become less noticeable. Should they sense something moving nearby, they flick their forewings upwards quickly. Any would-be predator gets tricked into thinking it's being watched and usually moves off.
I photographed this stationary Grayling close to, from a position where some light was striking it. This helped define it and show it's mottled underwing markings and colour tones. However, when viewed from other angles it became almost undetectable and blended in perfectly with the stony track.