www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I guess it's a little off the wall (or should that be off the peg!) but I've been thinking about this issue recently. Obviously when stalking butterflies the less conspicuous you are, the better. My non-scientific tests seem to suggest that butterflies react more to some colours than others. Surprising, greens and blues seem to make me more visible while light grey seemed the best.

This topic was touched on in another thread: http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB2/v ... fe250fd0b0 but the issue of clothing colour is worthy of a separate topic.

Anyone got any thoughts?

Best wishes

Malcolm

If you are looking down on a butterfly, dark colours like green, blue and black might accentuate the contrast with the pale sky or canopy. Perhaps pale grey or white, by reflecting more light, lessens this contrast. Typically, we approach butterflies from the sunny side, and I find anything that increases the 'looming' effect disturbs them. So I take my backpack off, for example, for the approach, and always get down low.

On the other hand, butterflies in the canopy will often come down to pale colours, perhaps associating their brightness with water. White clothing is definitely a plus for purple emperor watching.

It should not be forgotten that insects perceive different parts of the 'visible' spectrum from us. Many insects cannot see red at all (though butterflies can) and most can see well into the ultraviolet range. Thus, an insect's eye view of the world would highlight different things and bring out different patterns, in much the same way a colour-blindness test looks different to 'normal' and colour-blind people.

Above all, though, even if different colours affect your visibility to a butterfly, being visible does not automatically make you a threat. This depends on how you move and in my experience the great trick for getting right up close to butterflies is to learn to move as if you were in a really slow action replay, being conscious of the position of every part of your body. Then, the butterfly is aware you are there, but doesn't care.

Guy

One handy side effect of wearing a white shirt is that it acts to fill-in like a photo umbrella when shooting against the light on a sunny day.

red admirals seem to prefer my white outfits ...they have perched on my shirt for more than a minute in some cases

i think perhaps the detergent has some ultraviolet "whiter than white" photo activity...





charles