Yellow-Tip Antennae
The Lesser Purple Emperor Apatura ilia has an 'eye' on the upper side of the upper wing, a less defined pattern on the underside, and bright yellow antennae tips; its look-alike the Purple Emperor Apatura iris does not
To all who visit and view, and – especially – express support and satisfaction: you are much appreciated!
Die Fühlerspitzen sind leuchtend gelb
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Babenhausen 28AUG2019 – Lesser Purple Emperor Butterfly:
This male Apatura ilia form clytie butterfly flew onto my shoe! And as if that were not amazing enough, as it turned, its color changed from 42 shades of ordinary brown to become iridescent blue!
Billions of tiny scales – in 2 types – on the dorsal wing overlap like roof tiles and cover the membrane surface, to the naked eye appearing as dust, producing a brilliant color due to multilayer photonic crystal micro- and nanostructure, transforming a plain brownish hue to a stunning violet-blue, a phenomenon used to attract mates, camouflage, and startle predators: wingtop color changes in the wake of the variation of the incident light angle.
Even though this is the first time I've identified it, the Lesser Purple Emperor butterfly's range, the Palearctic [Palaearctic] (first identified in the 19th century and still used as the basis for zoogeographic classification), is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms on the Earth's surface, stretching across Europe, Asia north of the Himalayan foothills, North Africa, and northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Hope you enjoy the 26% of 61 butterfly photos I took this day!
________________________________
– Album – Germany – 26AUG-11SEP2019:
Three days before leaving, I got my schedule rearranged to free up time for Joe & me to spend two weeks in and around Babenhausen!
Yellow-Tip Antennae
The Lesser Purple Emperor Apatura ilia has an 'eye' on the upper side of the upper wing, a less defined pattern on the underside, and bright yellow antennae tips; its look-alike the Purple Emperor Apatura iris does not
To all who visit and view, and – especially – express support and satisfaction: you are much appreciated!
Die Fühlerspitzen sind leuchtend gelb
________________________________________________
Babenhausen 28AUG2019 – Lesser Purple Emperor Butterfly:
This male Apatura ilia form clytie butterfly flew onto my shoe! And as if that were not amazing enough, as it turned, its color changed from 42 shades of ordinary brown to become iridescent blue!
Billions of tiny scales – in 2 types – on the dorsal wing overlap like roof tiles and cover the membrane surface, to the naked eye appearing as dust, producing a brilliant color due to multilayer photonic crystal micro- and nanostructure, transforming a plain brownish hue to a stunning violet-blue, a phenomenon used to attract mates, camouflage, and startle predators: wingtop color changes in the wake of the variation of the incident light angle.
Even though this is the first time I've identified it, the Lesser Purple Emperor butterfly's range, the Palearctic [Palaearctic] (first identified in the 19th century and still used as the basis for zoogeographic classification), is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms on the Earth's surface, stretching across Europe, Asia north of the Himalayan foothills, North Africa, and northern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Hope you enjoy the 26% of 61 butterfly photos I took this day!
________________________________
– Album – Germany – 26AUG-11SEP2019:
Three days before leaving, I got my schedule rearranged to free up time for Joe & me to spend two weeks in and around Babenhausen!