Butterflies

[Hatter]

I think these are all Chalk Hill Blues.
100mm Macro lens with pop-up flash.

 

[Ryewolf]

Excellent set of macros Gareth, maybe favourite being #2 with the frog/leafhopper on the flower stem....

[Hatter]

Thanks, Geoff.
F11, ISO 400, Underexposed by 2 stops to keep the background dark, but with the pop-up flash to light the subject.

[Clicker]

7 hours ago, Hatter said:

Thanks, Geoff.
F11, ISO 400, Underexposed by 2 stops to keep the background dark, but with the pop-up flash to light the subject.

That effectively reduces a lot of the background clutter that  can sometimes spoil a good butterfly image ... a very nice set Gareth  .. out of interest have you cropped them at all? 

[JohnP]

Nice captures!

This is not a butterfly I see where I live so I've never seen them. I mostly see the Common Blue which is so similar, I have just spent a while comparing your shots with my Common Blues and they are very alike. I think No3 is female.

[Clicker]

6 minutes ago, JohnP said:

I mostly see the Common Blue which is so similar, I have just spent a while comparing your shots with my Common Blues and they are very alike. I think No3 is female.

 I thought the same John ... in fact I would not be able to tell the difference I  have to admit .  Are they a similar size to the Common Blue ?

[JohnP]

Polly.... they are about the same size as Common Blues.

[Clicker]

I really can’t tell the difference .... maybe  I should go to Sp*csavers ...

[Hatter]

Thanks, Polly & John.

1 hour ago, Clicker said:

out of interest have you cropped them at all? 

Yes - but not massively.  This was an evening shoot so they were quite settled and let you get quite close.

1 hour ago, JohnP said:

I have just spent a while comparing your shots with my Common Blues

I've just had a look on Google Images and I see what you mean.  I was told to expect a mix of Chalk Hill Blues and Marbled Whites at that location.  (I didn't see any Marbled Whites though.). That doesn't mean some or all of them weren't Common Blues of course...

[Hatter]

This looks to be a different species - not sure what though!

[JohnP]

I might be wrong but I think it's a male Chalk Hill Blue, here's a mating pair of Common Blues to compare.

[Hatter]

Thanks, John.  I thought it might be something else due to the lack of spots.

The Common Blues do look very similar.