Padfield

[Cotswold Cockney]

Nice to see those images in the night skies Guy.

Venus low in the early morning south eastern sky ( ca. 4-5 a.m. ) in Gloucestershire has been spectacular over the past few nights. One or two other bright "stars/planets" nearby enhancing the scene. Never seen Venus so large and bright to the naked eye. Rarely seen such clear cloudless skies for many years either followed by lots of bright Autumn sunshine. A bonus which enabled me to get stuck into a few of the family's cars and get them ready for their annual MoT test. Three of the four passed. My trusty Rover 620ti needing a new rubber boot to replace the split one on the N/S/F CV-Joint. A job I completed today a will book a free re-test tomorrow. Had car for over ten years and it's unusual to need something done for the MoT. I usually keep an eye on these car things but missed that split rubber CV-J rubber boot.

On the garden butterfly visitor front, only seen a male Large White and a female Small White obviously searching for something to lay her ova on in my garden.They enjoyed the warm sunshine. They and the Green Veined Whites lay their several ova on some very, very small cress like plants in my garden. So small I wonder if there's sufficient foliage to feed even one larva. I still find their pupae about the place including both Speckled Woods and Orange Tip pupae in the garden. I once found a freshly emerged female Small Copper Expanding her wings on my garage wall. I wonder what that larva fed up on in my garden. In my own little few acres of Nature Reserve ten miles away, this time of year I've seen females laying on a very small stunted plant of Sheeps' Sorrel. Ignoring the larger more healthier looking plants nearby.

Not too keen on this time of year once the Clocks go back one hour. Gets late far too early ...

[Padfield]

Thanks for the news and update, CC. I agree about the time change. It's great when it happens, but after your biological clock slides back it means you have to get up silly early to go on a trip or else find yourself caught out by dusk at the other end of the day.

Gautama's slow transformation continues.



The 'death's head' on his shoulders is coming into clearer relief. I didn't notice this mark until last year, when all my hibernating caterpillars except those that spent the winter on green buds showed it. The green buddies remained largely green. The bark-and-twiggies turned deep grey with the skull insignia very obvious, as well as other skeletal white patterns. This was Sarasvatī during hibernation:



Guy

[Pete Eeles]

That last image has to be one of the best I've ever seen of an overwintering iris larva, and I've seen quite a few! Nice work, sir!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Cotswold Cockney]

I believe that colour change prior to entering hibernation is structural rather than pigment change being involved. Tell you why, although it must be close to forty years since I used a hand lens ( x12 mag. ) to examine a hibernating larva closely, I clearly remember that when viewed using that x12 lens for a very close up view, the green pigment again predominates showing through. Without the lens, the appearance changes to the naked eye. Sometimes, when using bellows and a macro lens on my SLR Minolta SRT 101, larvae which looked dark to the naked eye sometimes showed green in the image. This composite picture of hibernating iris larvae was taken using my trusty SRT101 which I still have but have not used for years. :~



Anyone with access to hibernating iris larvae having a suitable x10 or x12 hand lens, might like to check for themselves and see if they can confirm this colour change is actually structural - surface change - rather than pigment related.... or, not. Ideally in a strong winter sunshine light at the"right" angle.

I have a modern digital cameras which can achieve the same result in less than a second after pressing one or two buttons. Setting up the Minolta with bellows and macro lens took much more time and in some ways was far more satisfying when obtaining decent images. Old technology more suited and appealing to an artistic "bent" rather than simple point and shoot technological advancement.

.... as me old Dad used to say many moons ago...

"Youngsters today don't know they're born" ... Looking at my two sons now men in their twenties and thirties, i now know exactly what Dad meant...

EDIT to add @ 01:11 ~ The above composite picture is actually a digital image of three carefully placed 6 x 4 prints ~ old technology ... updated ..

[Padfield]

I will investigate that this winter, assuming I can find Gautama after he goes into hibernation. Because of the heatwave and drought in July and August the iris cats are secreted in deep, humid shade - or so I presume - and Gautama is one of only two I found. Both of these were very low to the ground and only exposed when the foresters cut the verges. I will take the tripod down on a bright, winter day, for proper pictures.

Today, almost a year and a half after being granted 'la bourgeoisie' of my commune, Ollon, I finally received full Swiss citizenship at a ceremony in Lausanne ('la prestation de serment', which involves promising to uphold Swiss values). So next time I return to the UK it will be on a Swiss passport - and more importantly, Minnie and I are now concitoyens. When I returned I took Minnie for a walk and checked on Gautama. He now sports a recognisable tête de mort, complete with eye sockets, cheek bones and a nose slit. He is named, of course, after Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, conqueror of Māra, so it is wholly appropriate that he should carry the weight of death lightly on his shoulders and - I hope - live through it!

Not a great picture, as the light was low and this is hand-held, but here he is:



Guy

[David M]

That 'death's head' jumps right out at you from the image, Guy. I've never seen it so clearly.

[Padfield]

That 'death's head' jumps right out at you from the image, Guy.

Let's hope it protects him.

I nipped off to the Papiliorama for some winter exotica today. Here are a few piccies.

Huge Caligo larvae (owl butterflies) were much in evidence on the banana leaves. This pair snuggling up together were nearly six inches long:



From close up they are frightening creatures:



I'm not certain of the species but suspect they are Caligo atreus, one of the largest of the owls. Here is an adult of this species not far away from where the cats were feeding:



A new species for me was Archeoprepona amphimachus, here feeding next to the leaf butterfly, Kalima inachus - something geographically highly improbable in the wild (South America and Asia respecively)! I waited ages to catch a glimpse of the upperside but it was not forthcoming.





Equally improbable, geographically, was this juxtaposition of Catonephele numilia (South America) and Parthenos sylvia (Asia):



Here are Tithorea tarricina and Morpho peleides (both South American):



This is a beautifully fresh Junonia atlites, from South Asia:



And this is Anartia amathea, from South America:



Another new species for me was this Greta gardneri. At least, I think that is what it is. I took the picture assuming it was the familiar Greta oto, then later spotted it was quite different from that species. If I'd noticed at the time I would have taken better pictures:


EDIT: Looking through d'Abrera, I think it might not even be Greta, but one of the other glasswing genera. I'll ID it properly tomorrow.

This is Papilio lowi on the wing-drying tree:



Another male Catonephele numilia ...



... and another. I didn't see any females today but they usually have both.



Ideopsis juventa, from Asia:



A pair of Morpho peleides, mating by the path:



And finally, an unknown Caterpillar:



I think I'm a little addicted to tropical butterflies. Every so often I just have to go along there and get my fix ...

Guy

[Padfield]

Warm air from the south has brought blue skies and summer temperatures back. I deliberately stayed home and worked yesterday so I could get out today and clock up the weekend's species to November. In the event, I didn't have a lot of time today, but during a couple of hours' walk in the valley I found 11 species still on the wing. These were: rosy grizzled skipper (three seen, all quite worn), small white (half a dozen), clouded yellow (common), Berger's clouded yellow (common), small copper (more common than last week, including lots of fresh individuals), common blue (a few), Chapman's blue (a few, locally), some very fresh, Adonis blue (the commonest blue), Queen of Spain (quite common), wall (still common) and tree Grayling (very few left now).

This was the first rosy grizzly I saw. It didn't hang around:



To be honest, I can't swear it's not malvoides, except that it would be exceptionally late for that species. I didn't get a glimpse of the underside.

The second was quite different in appearance, showing how difficult Pyrgus species can be if you don't have contextual information:



That last one is confirmed onopordi (rosy).

Some of the Queens were quite fresh. This species can spend the winter in any stage and in recent years has seemed essentially continuously brooded. This individual will probably still be flying in December if the weather permits - the shorter and cooler days prolong the life of adult butterflies, providing they can still find nectar sources:



This is a Chapman's blue:



I think these are both common blues, though I photographed them in a Chapman's hotspot:



I didn't see the underside of either.

The black kites are long gone but a red kite flew overhead as we walked along the Rhône to the site:



I'd be interested if anyone could give me information on these sand tubes on smooth rocks down by the Rhône:





At this point there is a kind of sandy beach by the river, where I often take Minnie to have a drink.

Guy

[bugboy]

I'd be interested if anyone could give me information on these sand tubes on smooth rocks down by the Rhône:

My guess would be abandoned caddis Fly larval tubes.

[Wurzel]

The sheen on the wings of that Rosy Skipper are great Guy I'd go for Caddis larval cases too...
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Padfield]

Thanks Buggy and Wurzel.

Funnily enough, the words 'cadis fly' came straight into my head when I saw the tubes, from some childhood image of seeing them in the books, but this is not a group I've ever really got to know. I must make a point of seeing the creatures themselves.

Guy

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Guy.

I'd suggest a species of freshwater annelid for your 'sand tubes' as many live in tubes similar to those depicted. I've certainly seen marine species and believe freshwater forms also occur.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

[Padfield]

Thanks Mark. I still haven't got round to doing the required research on this one. I've seen annelid tubes in marine environments but didn't expect to see them here, on a rock above the sandy shore.

After heatwaves in July and August we are expriencing another one now, keeping the butterflies on the wing. Up in the mountains, I've been seeing red admirals, clouded yellows and Queen of Spain fritillaries all week. Today I went down to the valley, where 14 species were flying. For the Pierids, there were small whites (several - not that many), clouded yellows (very common, drifting along every track and over every hillside), Berger's clouded yellows (common, but less so than clouded yellows) and a single female brimstone. Four blues were on the wing still: common blue (the commonest), Adonis blue (quite common), Chapman's blue (I only actually confirmed one, suggesting this species is just about over) and northern brown argus (two individuals). A single small copper flew, despite there having been loads around just a week ago. Queens of Spain are still common and a single comma was apparently looking for somewhere to go back to sleep. Finally, for the Satyrids, there were a few tree graylings, a single grayling and loads of walls - predominantly females.

Some piccies:


(no surprises here - Queens are on the wing all year round)


(clouded yellows also fly as long as weather permits - into December sometimes)


(Berger's is on its last legs - this is a female)


(Minnie stalking a female Berger's)


(here she is more interested in grasshoppers - every once in a while she catches one in flight and eats it in the same movement - good protein for a vegan dog)


(walls)


(tree grayling)


(a late northern brown argus)


(a different individual)


(last of the Chapman's blues)


(the underside of the same butterfly)


(small copper)


(comma)


(a poor shot of one of the remaining Adonis blues - their numbers are decreasing)


(this looked like a female chalkhill blue - I wasn't sure, not having seen a male for some weeks now)


(detail of her hindwing)

Like last week, a red kite drifted by, attended by ravens:





It was a really beautiful day, but like all autumn days, too short. The sun was already dipping behind the mountains at 15h10, as I walked back to the train:



Guy

[David M]

Wow! Fourteen species is an impressive tally for November, Guy. It's abnormally mild here too (around 16c) but sunshine is conspicuous by its absence.

[Goldie M]

Butterflies have all gone from here Guy, but it's good to see your still seeing some, love the stalking Minnie Goldie

[Padfield]

Thanks David and Goldie. The weather has been amazing recently. It was still clear tonight, so I took Minnie on a dark walk on unlit roads in the hope of catching some Taurids. None - surprisingly - but as I had my eyes glued to the sky I noticed my own star sign, Aquarius, was about as high as it gets in the south, and Fomalhaut, the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus (the southern fish) was brilliant beneath him. So when we got back I grabbed my camera and went back out to photograph that part of the sky.



And a legend for those who don't know their stars:



I had another bash at getting a picture of the Andromeda galaxy - just because I have a special, childhood relationship with this object. It is the furthest thing visible to the naked eye, at two million light years away, and I love gazing two million years back into history, imagining them gazing back, similarly missing me by two million years (so not quite like the John Lewis Christmas advert ... ):



Guy

[David M]

Tremendous images, Guy. I really don't know how you manage to take such shots...God knows I can't no matter how much I experiment.

Yes, it's a humbling experience to 'travel in time'. It's amazing to think that the Andromeda Galaxy we see is from over 2 million years ago, before humankind even evolved! I doubt very much if we will still be seeing it 2 million years from now (we'll have long since sent ourselves into extinction)!

[Cotswold Cockney]

Remarkable amount of light pollution in the bottom left of some of those sky images GUY. Longish exposure exaggeration? Please keep 'em coming. Fascinating stuff...Every star is a look back in time, even our nearest star we see it as it was eight minutes ago IIRC. Back in 1969 or was it 1970, high up on the Hills near Arnside, mid-July late evening with the sun dropping low over the Horizon over the bay, the angle and amount of dust in the air acted like an effective filter so that we could look directly at the Sun with the naked eye without harm. Then seeing a number of clearly defined black sun-spots. Again, rarely seen anything like that since.

Bit of a Night Owl me in recent years ~ now retired no need to set the alarm for an early start ~ I often go outside in the early hours and look up when there is a cloudless sky. Because of light pollution, the night skies in Gloucestershire although good, particularly recently, have never been as impressive as I saw them in November 1951 when nine year old me along with other passengers in an overnight coach trip, took a comfort break in a roofless tin fence roadside toilet high up on the Cotswolds in the early hours. Such luxury in still relatively war impoverished UK... Looking up then was an unbelievable sight I have never seen repeated. Millions of stars and points of light all vividly clearly defined.

Did that early hours trip a while back on a sultry night recently. Cloud base less than 1000 feet I would say. Much lower and I would be driving in a fog cloud. Looking out towards Cheltenham, the cloud base low over the town was orange with glow from the lights below. Remarkable sight. Never seen that before.

P.S. Red Kites and Ravens far from rare sight overhead in my garden. Would not know about the higher flying Ravens until their calls alert me. Unlike Rooks, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows who fly much lower. Few days ago, heard a Herring Gull and Jackdaw making a hell of a din overhead as I was working outside on one of the family cars. Looking up I saw a Little Egret being strongly pursued by the aforementioned Crow and Gull. The Egret skillfully and easily dodged their attacks. That also reminds me of another occasion when looking up at Gulls making a row overhead. Then to see a Heron flying upside down with both long legs and claws upwards fending off the aggressive Gulls. Now retired, never previously had the time to see these things before. Had no idea they were there. Almost a daily event now. Good eh. So much to do and see. Where did I ever find the time to go to work ... total mystery ...

[Padfield]

It's all in the processing, David. I'm sure you can actually get far better pictures than these, as you use a large sensor, allowing much better dynamic range, and I use a small sensor. The dynamic range of the human eye is remarkable, so we can see stars dazzling in a dark sky and also the surrounding countryside. One of the challenges for 'scenic' star pictures, with a small sensor, is to bring out the stars without completely crushing the rest of the picture. This picture of Orion rising, also taken last night, shows what happens if you go too far with the stars - you lose the mountains:



I'll reprocess that one when I get a moment. And I'll try and remember to increase the saturation, too, so the red colours of Betelgeuse and Aldebaran (in Taurus, above Orion) show.

CC - yes, there's a lot of light in the valley (and these are all 15" exposures, hence the slight trails visible in the Andromeda picture). That first picture was not taken on the 'dark lanes' I mentioned but near my house. The street lamp next to my house is an annoyance for these night pictures but I quite like the glow from the valley, often exaggerated by low haze. Mountain skies can sometimes be wonderfully clear, even though here, too, we suffer from the diffusive effects of pollution. But childhood skies, unphotographed yet perfectly remembered, remain forever the best ...

Guy

EDIT: Here's that Orion rising picture, reprocessed to bring out the mountains and the colour of the stars:

[MikeOxon]

I always enjoy night sky photos and took the opportunity to take a few while down near the equator. I particularly liked those you showed earlier of the planetary conjunction.

As you wrote, a lot is in the processing but I would add to always use the widest possible aperture on the camera, set a high ISO, and use a fairly wide angle lens. Unless you have a sophisticated mount, the earth's rotation will blur the star images with exposures of only just a few seconds, of you try to zoom in too much!

For processing, I start by using the 'levels' control to cut out all the grey tones and make the background 'black' - this is why high-ISO noise doesn't matter, because you remove it anyway. Then I use the brightness and contrast controls to get as many stars visible as possible, without noise starting to appear.

Mike