At Home in Wildflowers
by Nava Thompson
Title
At Home in Wildflowers
Artist
Nava Thompson
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
A photo taken by Nava Jo Thompson of a yellow butterfly on a purple wildflower at Pea Ridge National Park in NW Arkansas.........Butterflies may have one or more broods per year. The number of generations per year varies from temperate to tropical regions with tropical regions showing a trend towards multivoltinism..........Egg of Ariadne merioneButterfly eggs are protected by a hard-ridged outer layer of shell, called the chorion. This is lined with a thin coating of wax which prevents the egg from drying out before the larva has had time to fully develop. Each egg contains a number of tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, called micropyles; the purpose of these holes is to allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary greatly in size between species, but they are all either spherical or ovate.....Butterfly eggs are fixed to a leaf with a special glue which hardens rapidly. As it hardens it contracts, deforming the shape of the egg. This glue is easily seen surrounding the base of every egg forming a meniscus. The nature of the glue is unknown and is a suitable subject for research. The same glue is produced by a pupa to secure the setae of the cremaster. This glue is so hard that the silk pad, to which the setae are glued, cannot be separated.......Eggs are almost invariably laid on plants. Each species of butterfly has its own hostplant range and while some species of butterfly are restricted to just one species of plant, others use a range of plant species, often including members of a common family.........The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies but eggs laid close to winter, especially in temperate regions, go through a diapause (resting) stage, and the hatching may take place only in spring. Other butterflies may lay their eggs in the spring and have them hatch in the summer. These butterflies are usually northern species, such as the Mourning Cloak (Camberwell Beauty) and the Large and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.....Caterpillars of Junonia coenia.Butterfly larvae, or caterpillars, consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their time in search of food. Although most caterpillars are herbivorous, a few species such as Spalgis epius and Liphyra brassolis are entomophagous (insect eating).........Some larvae, especially those of the Lycaenidae, form mutual associations with ants. They communicate with the ants using vibrations that are transmitted through the substrate as well as using chemical signals.[5][6] The ants provide some degree of protection to these larvae and they in turn gather honeydew secretions.......Caterpillars mature through a series of stages called instars. Near the end of each instar, the larva undergoes a process called apolysis, in which the cuticle, a tough outer layer made of a mixture of chitin and specialized proteins, is released from the softer epidermis beneath, and the epidermis begins to form a new cuticle beneath. At the end of each instar, the larva moults the old cuticle, and the new cuticle expands, before rapidly hardening and developing pigment. Development of butterfly wing patterns begins by the last larval instar.......Butterfly caterpillars have three pairs of true legs from the thoracic segments and up to 6 pairs of prolegs arising from the abdominal segments. These prolegs have rings of tiny hooks called crochets that help them grip the substrate........Some caterpillars have the ability to inflate parts of their head to appear snake-like. Many have false eye-spots to enhance this effect. Some caterpillars have special structures called osmeteria which are everted to produce foul-smelling chemicals. These are used in defense........Host plants often have toxic substances in them and caterpillars are able to sequester these substances and retain them into the adult stage. This makes them unpalatable to birds and other predators. Such unpalatibility is advertised using bright red, orange, black or white warning colours, a practice known as aposematism. The toxic chemicals in plants are often evolved specifically to prevent them from being eaten by insects. Insects in turn develop countermeasures or make use of these toxins for their own survival. This "arms race" has led to the coevolution of insects and their host plants..........Detail of a butterfly wingWings or wing pads are not visible on the outside of the larva, but when larvae are dissected, tiny developing wing disks can be found on the second and third thoracic segments, in place of the spiracles that are apparent on abdominal segments. Wing disks develop in association with a trachea that runs along the base of the wing, and are surrounded by a thin peripodial membrane, which is linked to the outer epidermis of the larva by a tiny duct..........Wing disks are very small until the last larval instar, when they increase dramatically in size, are invaded by branching tracheae from the wing base that precede the formation of the wing veins, and begin to develop patterns associated with several landmarks of the wing............Near pupation, the wings are forced outside the epidermis under pressure from the hemolymph, and although they are initially quite flexible and fragile, by the time the pupa breaks free of the larval cuticle they have adhered tightly to the outer cuticle of the pupa (in obtect pupae). Within hours, the wings form a cuticle so hard and well-joined to the body that pupae can be picked up and handled without damage to the wings.
Uploaded
June 12th, 2013
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Viewed 795 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/20/2024 at 2:42 PM
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Comments (50)
Randy Rosenberger
Nava, this is perfection of natural beauty! It is a pleasure to see so much variety and beauty in the works that are submitted for FEATURING on our WFS site. It is an honor to FEATURE this piece of work on our Homepage of our site. Thanks for sharing and being active in our group membership. Fave and Vote Forever, Elvis
Nava Thompson replied:
Randy--thank you very much for the nice comments and the feature in WFS site. Much appreciated!
Craig Wood
Wonderful! You have such an ability to freeze these beauties into gorgeous images. f/v
Nava Thompson replied:
Craig---thank you very much for your encouraging comments!! Much appreciate your support and f/v!
Byron Varvarigos
Lovely shot, Nava Jo! vf, The butterfly is definitely a fritillary, maybe a Great Spangled Fritillary. : )
Nava Thompson replied:
Byron---thanks--for the comments and v/f---also---for the name of this butterfly---you are right!!!
Nadine and Bob Johnston
. . . Thank you for submitting this, Great subject interest, texture, composition, and color, Published in the Internet publication ARTISTS NEWS.... http://bit.ly/RVPlpf - Anyone can Highlight just the link ---- Use Ctl-C to copy and Ctl-V ---- puts it in Browser to view the publication. You can then, Tweet, FB, and email, etc a copy of the publication, to those you feel are interested.
Hanne Lore Koehler
Outstanding capture of heavenly light and earthly beauty, Nava!!! Fantastic colors and composition! v/f/t/g+
Nava Thompson replied:
Thank you Hanne for your great comments and f/v/t/g . June was hectic--sorry I am late in seeing this--much appreciated!
Will Borden
Magnificent light, Nava Jo, and your image is outstanding!!! F&V!
Nava Thompson replied:
Thank you Will--I am sorry for my late reply--just now seeing your great comments--Thank you for the support!