www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Very lucky last evening to witness a Dingy Skip egg hatching. The top of the egg had started to go black during the day, so I checked on it every hour or so. the larva appeared to be trying to bite through the eggshell, which process took about two hours. As soon as the hole was big enough to get its head through, it was out in about 5 secs and legging it up the trefoil stem, where it spun a few leaves together wherein it remains today, quite hidden. Hope to have photos of further growth in due course.

Tony M.

Great photos Tony!

What equipment are you using? I really struggle with my setup!

Cheers,

- Pete

Superb. Images like these are priceless.

Those are wonderful pictures, Tony.

I feel a Vince Massimo 'species-specific galleries' moment coming ...

Guy

padfield wrote: I feel a Vince Massimo 'species-specific galleries' moment coming ...

You're not wrong

These are exceptional images Tony and I know from many failed experiences that opportunities to observe, let alone successfully capture, such minute action sequences are rare. Just the sort of thing we need to see more of in the Species-Specific Album (there, I've said it.......... ).

If you could do the honours then please,Tony and of course any further larval development images would also be very welcome.

Many thanks,

Vince

Thanks, guys - I do feel I was very lucky.

Pete, I was using a Sony A65 set to its 2x teleconverter + 60mm of extension tubes and a Sigma 105mm macro. It was set up on the rig that I use for photostacking (roughly two cheap Chinese sliders fixed to a bit of angle girder and screwed to a wooden base. I'll post a photo if anyone's interested). The stem with the egg was set up on one slider and the camera on the other. I used a double 'led' feeler light for illumination. The gear was left set up so that as soon as there was some positive movement, I was able to switch on the lights and camera and shoot.

Tony.

In the interests of science, I stayed up until 5 am last night waiting for my second DS egg to hatch. At risk of overkill, I post below another sequence. From the first break in the shell to the final emergence took over four hours! I felt like a lepidopterous midwife... The larva was active in bursts of 20 secs or so followed by a(supposed) rest period of up to 10 mins. The whole process seemed an enormous struggle. Once the head was free, the shell was vacated in about 10 secs. The volume of the emerged larva appeared to be at least double the capacity of the shell!

Tony M.

Superb photos Tony and amazing dedication - and thanks for answering my question about your setup!

Cheers,

- Pete

Breathtaking stuff. Where else on the web could you view images such as these?

Fantastic pictures. Thanks for sharing them.