News / 01 January, 2020
Nymphs of the Woodland
Elegant and beautiful winged creatures
Butterflies and moths are some of the animals that catch my eyes when I’m working on the field. In order to take some kind of special photos I usually have to remain motionless for a number of hours, waiting for something to happen. During those long periods I try to keep my attention on what I am waiting for, but sometimes my concentration falls when a beautiful insect lands on my arm under the sun. Then I can see six legs and two antennae coming from on its narrow body, and four wide, sweeping, coloured wings with delicate red, yellow or blue accents. It may be a butterfly or a moth, both part of the scientific order Lepidoptera. This fragile animal does not realize that I am a big living being. It flutters the wings posing and displaying its fragile beauty, only for my eyes.
“Butterflies conjure up images of sunshine,
the warmth and colour of flowery nature, full of life”
Butterflies have fascinated humankind for millennia, and their presence has been interpreted in a variety of ways, from omens of love to personifications of the soul. One can think their lives are simple, but it is amazing to think about that these insects start their lives as ugly hungry caterpillars before transforming themselves completely into their flying adult beautiful forms. All this process, from caterpillar, to pupa or chrysalis, and finally the metamorphosis into butterflies or moths has held great appeal to mankind. Also their lives are surprising, as they can live from a week to nearly a year, depending on the species.
But, what makes them so attractive to our eyes? Maybe it is the coloration of their fragile wings; perhaps it is the incessant movement of their wings, or their sudden stillness. A butterfly's rich colour can act as camouflage, mate attraction and warning signal. However, the delicate beauty of their iridescent wings is the perfect foil for predators. Iridescence makes colours to change very quickly because of the change in the angle of the incident light striking the wings. As the animal move its wings up and down during its flight, it seems to disappear, and reappear a short distance away, looking like ethereal flashes of coloured light. That confuses the predators, or amuses the observer by admiring the optical illusion.
Still hypnotised by the ephemeral beauty of my unexpected visitor, I recover my attention on my abandoned work, waiting for the best photo to be taken.
