Butterflies: Small Tortoiseshell
I don't have many photos of this species, as I don't see them often. It is called small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), kleine vos in Dutch.
This (Eurasian; no luck in the USA) butterfly is in rapid decline in Western Europe, maybe because it has been affected by droughts; the jury is still out on the causes of its declne.
There are still a few relatively stable populations near my home town in the east of The Netherlands, though, especially near streams and peat bogs.
Here are the four photos I have of this colourful butterfly:
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/320s
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f8, 1/200s
Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/320s
Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f5.6, 1/160s
Pretty, no? Thanks for watching this excruciatingly nice post!
Previous in series: Small Copper.
They are quite common in West Africa, i see them here, but this shot is exquisite, beautifying the butterfly even more
That's interesting; the books don't mention their presence in any part of Africa. Good to hear they are expanding somewhere!
It is one of the most beautiful insects, its rareness is due to the great change in the climate, and its reserves must be developed to preserve these rare species, it is very beautiful pictures
Indeed, and thank you.
I've also noticed I see these less and less where I live (Belgium), they used to be pretty abundant when I grew up.
I know it's just anecdotal evidence, but it's still sad to see them disappear.
Beautiful photos and nice to see that you also use an Olympus XZ-1, used to be one of my favorite cameras.
Sad indeed.
I still shoot the XZ-1 occasionally, it's easy to carry around and quite good for macro photos when there is enough light. Not all that good at higher ISOs, though.
It is beautiful. In Denmark it is called "Nældens takvinge" which would translate to something like "The nettles pointed wing" it is fairly common in Denmark and actually has been appointed the national butterfly (why we would want such a thing is beyond me but there you go, I am pretty sure the butterflies does not acknowledge national borders)
A national butterfly? That's, um, unusual, I don't think The Netherlands have one, but many countries have a national plant or bird, so why not?
Wow amazing its very lovely photography i like it
wow...nice photography thanks for sharing..
That's beautiful
The first picture is ammaazziinggggg
Great photography dear
Keep it up
Very nice shots of the Lepidoptera specimen there, please keep up the good work!
:-)
Great shots! Cant stop observing butterflies.