The guy behind the lens

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Nature's Rock Candy!

As I was going through my images from earlier this summer from the butterfly garden at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas, I noticed something I missed before. Initially I liked this image of a Tiger Longwing butterfly because of how it was perched "stilt legged" on this leaf.


Upon closer inspection, I noticed the proboscis looked "funny" and saw it was covered in sugar crystals! Given that this species of butterfly likes passion vines with deep, tubular flowers, it seems sensible that the proboscis would get a bit of sugar on it. In this case the nectar dried and the sugar crystals formed - in essence unintended rock candy!


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14 comments:

  1. Tatjana ParkachevaSeptember 17, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    Wonderful macro photographs.

    Regards and best wishes

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  2. Kerri FarleySeptember 17, 2011 at 3:02 PM

    Oh, how cool is that? What a neat find!
    Beautiful capture my friend!!

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  3. eileeninmdSeptember 17, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Awesome shots of the butterflies. Great macro shots.

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  4. Kay L. DaviesSeptember 17, 2011 at 3:47 PM

    I wonder if the butterfly would be alright after that?
    Great photos, though, John. Beautiful.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  5. CherylSeptember 17, 2011 at 4:01 PM

    That's really quite amazing. I've got to go up to the animal park soon to capture some butterfly shots before they close for the season. Would love to see something like this up close in person.

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  6. Love for Food and PhotographySeptember 17, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    Your Nature portraits are wonderful! I also like photographing the nature and landscapes of my Country, animals and food.
    hallo from Switzerland!

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  7. Tina´s PicStorySeptember 17, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Great shots :)

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  8. Iowa Gardening WomanSeptember 17, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    How interesting! One has to really look at the photos to take it all in or something is missed.

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  9. UnknownSeptember 17, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    A "sweet" shot of a butterfly. Thanks for visiting my blog. Many years ago I taught 7th and 8th grade science. I have been enjoying your blog for some time.

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2011 at 1:12 AM

    Marvellous shots - so clear!

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  11. AlSeptember 18, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    Great shot - I've never seen anything like this before.

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  12. Lisa September 18, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    Wow. Fantastic detail and images. Brilliant

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  13. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2011 at 9:46 PM

    Wonderfully sharp details. Happy MM

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  14. Julie G.September 24, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Simply beautiful images! So very intersting about the sugar crystals. Great post!

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