Saturday, July 02, 2011

Proboscis

A Fritillary displays its Proboscis curled moments after landing on a thistle.

The butterflies proboscis is the flexible specialized mouth part that allows it to sip nectar from deep within a flower.


As the butterfly prepares to feed it begins to extend the proboscis.  Note the loosening curls.

Now fully extended the proboscis is moving to rapidly for my shutter to freeze its movement as the butterfly probes for nectar.

Images posted above were taken with a Canon 60D, 100-400mm lens and 25mm extension tube


at

8 comments:

  1. Ruth HiebertSat Jul 02, 07:43:00 PM EDT

    These are excellent captures of the little details.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MontanagirlSun Jul 03, 12:10:00 AM EDT

    Fantastic! Love the colors.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lois EvensenSun Jul 03, 07:33:00 AM EDT

    Very nice from a great angle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. eileeninmdSun Jul 03, 08:37:00 AM EDT

    Beautiful images, Coy! The Fritillary is a pretty butterfly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ChrisSun Jul 03, 04:10:00 PM EDT

    wow that second shot is fantastic!!! But to be honest I love the whole collection ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. TomMon Jul 04, 11:19:00 AM EDT

    Excellent pictures as always Coy... I dropped by to say I hope your 4th of July goes with a bang. ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownTue Jul 05, 11:48:00 AM EDT

    It's definitely moth season! We saw a huge one at the beach.

    ReplyDelete
  8. MeggieSat Jul 09, 10:52:00 PM EDT

    I don't think I've ever seen a proboscis so clearly. Your photography (and lessons) get better and better.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the visits and comments as long as the comments are respectful of others views and contain no profanity.

Thanks again
Coy