Monarch cocoon?

salden · Post by **salden** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:07 pm

Again, from my garden, near the butterfly bushes.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:32 pm

very nice find Sue...better keep an eye on it because we will want more shots of this

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:12 pm

Yep, it sure looks like a monarch pupa, often called a chrysalis, from the Greek χρυσός (chrysós) for gold. The shells of many butterfly pupae carry shiny metallic spots. I recall reading several decades ago that in Monarchs, these shiny spots are associated with centers of development for the butterfly. A quick Google search based on that snippet of info turned up this handy reference about the Monarch butterfly:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarc ... wer06.html. The gold spots are addressed most of the way down -- search for "Fred Urquhart".

--Rik

MacroLuv · Post by **MacroLuv** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:09 am

Nice find Sue.

Besides, reading Rik's comments is always enjoyable.

salden · Post by **salden** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:00 am

I wanted to watch it and take more images, as this is the first one for me, but I leave Monday for GA for two weeks. I will see what "develops"

up to that time.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:05 am

Nice photograph Sue, highlights look a little harsh but I would not know anything about resolving that issue, you're the one going to school for this stuff (nyah

!

) Beautiful image Sue.

salden · Post by **salden** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:09 am

Yea, a few spots, but not sure if I can fix that. This is hanging under a leaf in the bushes, so flash was a must and that is what you see on the coon. The coon has a smooth, shiny type texture to it, so it just might be the way it has to be. When I get back from work today, I will attempt more images. I am off Friday, so maybe I can get a few images without flash if I have enough sunlight falling on the coon naturally.

And classes..yea they startup again today. One of them is "Lightening", so I think that will be interesting. I hope it is more than just "studio" and covers natural light too. In any case, I will share what I learn.

paul · Post by **paul** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:20 pm

Nice one, Sue, I love monarchs in all stages!

Maybe try a polarising filter, I think I had reasonable improvements when I used one on my very reflective and very black ants recently, reducing quite a bit of glare. (Also means less light for focussing

, but this thingy is not running away in a hurry.)

I must apologise for my recent absence from the forum; I got a bit busy, and am also preparing for a trip to Europe. Hope to be more visible from mid-November.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:37 pm

To kill harsh highlights, I have had reasonable sucess with a flash diffuser. Don't know how it would work on this but its worth a try I suppose.