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Two Generations

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted March 24, 2009389 views19 comments

Notice the egg on the leaf to the right of the larva. Not long after I shot this last August, the monarch caterpillar pupated and mated. Before that, others of the same generation had already done that, and laid this egg (and many others) on the milkweed. The next generation, still in the egg in this shot, were the ones to fly south to Mexico in late September, delaying reproduction until the following spring on the return trip to the USA.

Canon 20D
Sigma 150 macro
f/8 @ 1/30 sec.; ISO 200
Tripod; release
I used a reflector to help deal with the harsh side light.

Comments

19 comments

Comment posted by Keith Tate on March 24, 2009 at 4:36 PM

Wow,,,,, that is a neat shot Wayne

Registered on December 11, 2004, 150 Posts, 1667 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on March 24, 2009 at 4:49 PM

Nice image, Wayne. Great color and texture and you did a super job of keeping both the cat and the egg in focus. My wife who has spent summers raising and releasing Monarchs as part of a local GFP program tells me that the caterpillars always eat their egg shell after hatching (for minerals etc.) and that if there are any other eggs on the same leaf they may eat them before the competition hatches. I guess it's a "cat eat cat" world out there.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on March 24, 2009 at 5:29 PM

Well seen at such a small size here, Wayne. The tiny egg is the main focus of the image IMO.
Although I had not taken any macro shots in years, when I did so recently I also remembered to drag along a reflector too. As you had also mentioned here in your list of hardware. Like riding a bike I guess.

Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Moats on March 24, 2009 at 6:46 PM

Hey Wayne, very cool shot, like the deails and colors.

Registered on October 20, 2004, 892 Posts, 6324 Comments

Comment posted by Rebecka on March 24, 2009 at 10:44 PM

Beautiful. Amazing detail. Interesting about the reproductive cycle. Never would have known that was an egg!

Rebecka

Registered on February 5, 2009, 170 Posts, 924 Comments

Comment posted by Gary W. Sherwin on March 24, 2009 at 11:16 PM

Wayne:

Beautiful story telling shot. Love the reflector work. Perfect DOF selection.

Thank you for sharing your photo.

Gary

Registered on May 8, 2005, 56 Posts, 153 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 25, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Fantastic all the way around!! Excellent detail, lighting, composition, creativity etc. I bet you didn't have to dig too deep into your ID books to figure out this species!

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Rosemarie Arbur on March 25, 2009 at 2:48 AM

It'd be a great image, Wayne, even without the narrative. The colors and detail and composition are first-rate.

Registered on March 19, 2008, 189 Posts, 1644 Comments

Comment posted by Aristotle Georgiou on March 26, 2009 at 2:31 AM

Hi Wayne

Fantastic portrait, with excellent detail, nice lighting and great comp.

Well done!!!

Registered on August 24, 2008, 38 Posts, 293 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Benner on March 26, 2009 at 10:38 PM

Great shot, Wayne. Beautiful technique.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 482 Posts, 1868 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 26, 2009 at 10:38 PM

Wayne: GREAT detail on the egg and superb plane of focus management. We have monarchs almost year round and I never tire of observing the life cycle. Many bravos! >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Benner on March 30, 2009 at 7:03 PM

Congratulations Wayne. Excellent work.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 482 Posts, 1868 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on March 30, 2009 at 7:19 PM

great detail and light, Wayne, congrats on the EP

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on March 30, 2009 at 10:21 PM

Beautiful image Wayne even with the critter in it. (smile) Congrats on the EP. Very well deserved for this.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 31, 2009 at 1:31 AM

Very cool photo, Wayne!

Congratulations on the EP!

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Logan on March 31, 2009 at 2:39 AM

Love it Wayne... Monarchs are one of my favorites and we don't have them here in Alaska. I remember how excited I was when I raised them from caterpillars in California a long, long time ago. Thanks for sharing this very interesting shot! (SMILE)

Registered on October 26, 2007, 38 Posts, 117 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on March 31, 2009 at 7:02 AM

Congratulations Wayne! Amazing shot.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on March 31, 2009 at 12:19 PM

Wayne, Congrats on the EP. This is a great documentary capture and so glad you included a bit of the migration background. If you get a chance tell me more about your 150 Sigma macro. What is the working distance?
Well-deserved EP, Wayne.