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You are What You Eat, Pt. 2 - _TNY_0798

Lots of insects are named after their host plants, ie the larvae eat a certain plant so the plant name becomes a part of the species name.

 

This geometrid moth takes it a sep further and just assumes the name of the flower.

 

Say hello to a male mallow (Larentia clavaria) - a species whose larvae eat, you guessed it, mallow.

 

Like so many other of the moths I shoot, this one was sitting on the side of my house one night.

 

I took this shot using the Canon MP-E65mm lens at 1:1 magnification which happens to be the miminum magnification it can focus at - ie it is impossible to take a photo from further away than this and still have the subject in focus. Now look at the edges of the photo. This moth couldn't have been more than a millimeter larger and still fit in frame so I suppose you could say it is "fullframe-sensor-sized".

 

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52503570292/

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Uploaded on April 2, 2023
Taken on August 25, 2022