Puddling or "How Does a Butterfly Wipe Its Nose?"
This shot shows the behaviour a little better than the previous one I uploaded.
The behavior that this Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterfly is exhibiting, is known as puddling. They visit puddles like this ... sometimes in large numbers ... and extract sodium ions and amino acids from the damp gravel. Apparently, these sodium ions and amino acids help in reproduction.
I never had my extension tubes with me or I would have managed to get a closer shot. It was very co-operative. The front of the Nikon 105mm was practically touching it as it was. To get face to face with a butterfly like this, though, its an 'elbows and knees in the gravel' type of shot. Anyone passing by in a vehicle must have wondered what the heck I was doing. :-)
As you can notice, it's got the tip of that proboscis a little dirty. So, I was wondering: how does a butterfly wipe it's nose? :-)
Puddling or "How Does a Butterfly Wipe Its Nose?"
This shot shows the behaviour a little better than the previous one I uploaded.
The behavior that this Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterfly is exhibiting, is known as puddling. They visit puddles like this ... sometimes in large numbers ... and extract sodium ions and amino acids from the damp gravel. Apparently, these sodium ions and amino acids help in reproduction.
I never had my extension tubes with me or I would have managed to get a closer shot. It was very co-operative. The front of the Nikon 105mm was practically touching it as it was. To get face to face with a butterfly like this, though, its an 'elbows and knees in the gravel' type of shot. Anyone passing by in a vehicle must have wondered what the heck I was doing. :-)
As you can notice, it's got the tip of that proboscis a little dirty. So, I was wondering: how does a butterfly wipe it's nose? :-)