Caterpillar of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
I’ve been so busy writing other stuff (proposals and manuscripts) that I haven’t had time to post many pictures lately. That also means I haven’t been out much to take new pictures. So here are some photos from a couple weeks ago – a caterpillar that belongs to one of the species of swallowtail butterfly – probably the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (I also posted a photo of the adult for this species below).
The “eyes” that you see are not actually eyes at all. Instead this is a type of cryptic coloration (specifically mimicry) that has evolved to look like eyes as a defense mechanism.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar found along a trail in western North Carolina
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar. The eye spots seen above are a type of defense mechanism using cryptic coloration. The real eyes are two bluish-grey objects below.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Full Moon
I have a new found interest in astrophotography…lately I’ve been reading a lot about it. I really enjoy photographing the night sky, however it is not an easy task! I don’t have any great pictures of the stars just yet, but I’m working on it (when the weather cooperates). So I thought I’d share a photo of the waxing gibbous moon from a few days ago and one of the full moon that was visible two nights ago. I never invested in a telescope…but I’m adding it to the wish list now.
Waxing gibbous moon observed on 7/27/2012 from Boone, NC. Shot at 135 mm and cropped.
Full moon observed on 8/1/2012 from Boone, NC. Shot at 135 mm and cropped.
Appalachian Golden Hour
Since I moved about 6 weeks ago, I have been exploring some new great locations to photograph the sunrise and sunset here in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. Yesterday, I found a great spot for both the sunrise and sunset and I was lucky enough to have something more than a grey, overcast sky (as lately it seems there is a 50% chance of rain all day, every day). I hope to continue this series of posts as I discover more great places to photograph the landscape here in the High Country of North Carolina.
Sunrise on Blue Ridge Parkway
Above: A view of the sunrise from an overlook along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
Sunset in Boone, North Carolina
In addition to capturing some nice colors in the sky, I also took a few nice macros of a bumblebee on a thistle with a red sky in the background. With and without flash.
Bumblebee on a thistle
Silhouette of a thistle with bumblebee
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