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Sphinx moth caterpillar
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Sphinx moth caterpillar

by David Thomas

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 27, 201269 views5 comments
Here is the full Abbot's sphinx moth caterpillar posted (twice) a week ago for the Weekly Challenge. It feeds on the wild grape leaves shown as the background. The size and color of the greenish patches remarkably mimic the wild grapes themselves -- protective coloring, of course. The "eye" is on the tail end, mimicking an animal eye. Actual size about 8mm diameter and 60mm long.

Canon 7D, 90mm f/2.8 macro at f/10, ISO 1250, 1/1000 sec, handheld. Some saturation boost needed to attempt to reproduce the subtle green color.

Dave Thomas, Leesburg, Virginia (currently in New York State's Adirondack Mountains)

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 28, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Very interesting coloration and patterns David, the eye on the tail end's really cool :cool:
I would try shooting at a slightly different/more parallel plane of focus, and a bit more DOF to improve it.
TFS :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Ellen deBoer on July 29, 2012 at 6:59 AM
Great shot of an amazing caterpillar, David! I like the different shades of green in the image. A bit more DOF would have been nice indeed. :toast:
Registered on March 16, 2006, 419 Posts, 2076 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on July 29, 2012 at 9:32 AM
Certainly an interesting variety of CP you found. The "eye" on the back end is disorienting but very cool. The colors and pattern are striking.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 30, 2012 at 9:20 AM
Neat caterpillar. Add me to the crowd wishing for sharpness throughout the caterpillar.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by David Thomas on July 31, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Thanks for all the helpful comments. With such an interesting subject, I must learn to slow down and do the job right, particularly depth of field. In my defense, both the green and brown patterns have an inherent softness to them, which I suspect is another aspect of their cryptic coloration. I observed this softness by looking with a 7X hand magnifier

Dave Thomas
Registered on June 21, 2010, 30 Posts, 178 Comments