18 May 2014

Olympia Marble (Euchloe olympia)


I have been chasing this butterfly for about five years.  Yesterday I finally managed to capture one on film.

The Olympia Marble is not rare or endangered; it is found across the United States in scattered environments suitable for its host plants (rock cress), and it is more secure in Wisconsin than in any other state.  But it can be difficult to photograph.  It is univoltine (one generation a year), with a flight period restricted to a month or two in the spring.  It spends the rest of the summer in the larval stage, then pupates into a chrysalis for the fall and winter, rendering it susceptible to prescribed burns.

For years I have driven a couple hours north of Madison to participate in the early-spring field trip by members of the Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association to the Bauer-Brockway Barrens State Natural Area to view the sometimes-abundant Olympia Marbles and a variety of elfins and Karner Blues.  Yesterday morning I tracked several dozen Marbles but was - as in previous years - repeatedly frustrated by my inability to get close enough to this butterfly.  In the field, on the wing, the Olympia Marble looks like an all-white butterfly, a vigorous flyer that nectars only briefly.  When it settles, the topside spots (and the wing shape) distinguish it from the common Cabbage White.  But you need to get up close and personal to appreciate the real beauty of this creature on the underside of the forewing, where there is a delicate green marbling pattern.

Yesterday, after two hours of walking through the jack pine woods and sand prairies, I found the fellow at top, who responded to my request that he hold still while I got down on my belly and crept toward him.  With the lens about six inches away from the rock cress blossom that was blowing around on a windy day, I fired off 25-30 pix before I finally got the autofocus to center of the marble's wings rather than the background vegetation.

One more item from my bucket list finished.

10 comments:

  1. Congratulations, nice shot. You don´t use a telephoto lens?

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    1. I carry a Nikon Coolpix P100, which has a limited zoom range. I prefer to get the camera in closer rather than zoom, so that I get a better depth of field.

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  2. Gorgeous photo! Congrats.

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  3. If it were easy, you wouldn't treasure it so much or if it were easy, everyone would be doing it! Congratulations on your trophy photos. I love butterflies, but see only a few in my area.

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  4. Nice picture of a butterfly I have never seen (I live in Belgium).

    Autofocus is usually fine, but it can be annoying at times. For my previous compact camera (an Olympus), autofocus worked by pushing the button 'halfway' (pushing it in completely for taking a picture). I used the following work-around for macro shots. First, put the lense close to your hand and let camera focus on that. Then, position the camera such that the same focus distance applies to the object or insect of interest and take shots without refocusing.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sylvia. I actually did try that at the time, focusing on the bark of a tree at the same distance as the butterfly - but then the exposure was wrong, because the tree bark was so much darker than the butterfly.

      The most similar butterfly for you would probably be this one -

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euchloe_crameri

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  5. Very nice image. I have found it's much easier to get satisfactory results with a longer lens on a DSLR. My favorite lens so far has been the Nikon 300mm f/4 AFS. It focuses very closely and is generally quick enough for butterflies. With a lens like this you can get similar framing from several times the distance.

    Any of the newer camera bodies work well with this lens. The D7000 was particularly good as it's a crop sensor so you get extra reach out of the lens. The D7100 is the current version and has higher resolution. But even the newest entry level DSLRs will be good enough. The important part of the equation is the lens. You will also need a sturdy tripod for the sharpest shots. Normally I wouldn't recommend this level of equipment to people (based on the cost and perceived complexity), but if you are willing to drive a few hours to take pictures of butterflies you might find it beneficial to spend some money to increase your likelihood of success.

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    Replies
    1. Several other members of the club that I hike with do have long lenses on DSLRs, and they do get amazing images.

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  6. Oh man, that is one gorgeous butterfly.

    Turnaround is fair play: have you seen the pics of transparent butterflies on reddit?
    http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/24m9dt/transparent_butterfly/

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    Replies
    1. Yes -

      http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/08/sylphina-angel-butterfly.html

      http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/05/glasswing-butterfly.html

      http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/glasswing-butterfly.html

      :.)

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