Pale swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) nectaring on ocellated Humboldt lily (Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum) in southern California
An image I've only seen once in my life and tried to capture for several years. This rare lily flowers only during the heat of July, in wooded wildlands along ephemeral riparian systems. In other words, it ain't easy to hike to these things and you must contend with deer flies, canyon flies, poison oak, heat, & dust, while carrying heavy equipment. The flower is about the size of your fist. This plant is pollinated only by swallowtail butterflies. It's a joy to watch them flutter up to the flower, alight on the rocking anthers (they move), crawl/flutter upward, and start to probe the flower with their proboscis, in search of nectar. Once the nectar source is located, they stick their entire head up inside the flower tube.
Though it was 8:41 am, it was already glary, sunlight bounced off the shiny tepals, and the butterfly was shaded by the flower. I cropped all 'round, removed a bright twig from lower right and behind the right wing, used recover, & dodged the butterfly a bit to brighten it up. The only other time I've witnessed this scene, I was 20 meters away and that was close enough to spook the butterfly, which did not come back. This butterfly allowed me to get about 3 meters away and stayed for about 10 minutes. I was very, very careful not to scare it away.
Canon EOS 5D, Canon EF 100-400L IS at 400mm, Canon Speedlite 550EX E-TTL Flash in hotshoe.
ISO 400, 1/250 sec, f/11, EC -0.3. Handheld & nervous, I did a fair bit o'chimping after it left ;7)
Hey Bob, Great find and a very good composition. Great job getting enough DOF on the main subjects while still maintaining a blurred BG. Would have been nice to have more light on the B-fly's head and body. Need to clone out the flesh colored spot in the lower right corner. Well done.
Thanks, Mike. I totally agree - more light on the body would have been nice. I dodged it and didn't want to overdo that. Also, the tepal & anther in FG are both soft, but what can you do. Doh, I thought I removed all of that lower-right twig (there was a downed oak branch between me & the flower, something else I had to contend with). I will certainly do that.
BTW this canyon is thick with rattlesnakes (3 species), but oddly I saw none on this hike. Anyone wanna join me next year? Where is Robert O'Toole? He needs to come with me & get his shoes dirty ;7)
Hi Bob I think you made the best possigle image form your postion !!! The Bfly sure didn't make it easy on you Could only dream if it was perched on the top !!! Excellent !!!
Thanks for your description of where this lily is found and how it is pollinated. Your patience was rewarded. The glow of the flower is just lovely. I agree with Mike's comments. Your trek to this flower does not sound all that appealing! I'll stay home and enjoy your photos.
Gracias, everyone. The struggle to get to the good stuff makes the result even more rewarding. Alfred, I do have images of the butterfly atop the flower. They alight then wander frantically all over it, probing with their proboscis, to locate the flower's nectaries. The image looks pretty goofy with the butterfly on top (where there is no nectar). I kept it but will only show it as part of the pollinator sequence when I teach Pollination Biology.
Rattlesnakes are fantastic critters. I find them often but they usually don't strike a photographic pose. When they do, they are great subjects. Will post some in the Wildlife forum. Stay tuned.
Have to agree with the above. It is a fantastic composition and the butterfly underneath is perfect. Just wish the butterfly was better lit. Or possibly that that left wing was in the shadows as well.
Hey Bob,
Considering the light.....I think I would prefer this comp w/o the butterfly! I like the interesting angle on the lilly. An assistant with a diffuser and a bit of pop from flash would also work....I'm still looking for my assistant!
Butterfly & Lily
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