Owl Butterflies by TwoPynts

Photography • Animals • posted on Sep 15, 2005

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Description

"We learned to be patient observers like the owl. We learned cleverness from the crow, and courage from the jay, who will attack an owl ten times its size to drive it off its territory. But above all of them ranked the chickadee because of its indomitable spirit." --Tom Brown, Jr

Owl butterflies are large, brown, tan and black butterflies from tropical areas. The Owl Butterfly (family Brassolidae, genus Caligo memnon) is one of Amazonia's largest species. The large eyespots on the wings serve either to scare a potential predator or to misdirect an attack away from the body (since predators will often first attack the eyes of prospective prey). Flipped upside-down & held open, the overall pattern resembles the face of an owl, a defensive measure against predators. They prefer to spend the heat of the day perched upon a tree trunk, within the forest shade. They feed during the cooler dawn & dusk times on rotting fruits. They have a wingspan of about 15 centimeters/6 inches. The forewings of many owl butterfly species are iridescent. The two front legs of this butterfly are very small. While the caterpillars feed on the leaves of certain plants, the adult Owl Butterfly feeds exclusively on fermenting fruit. It's a habit which can result in the giant butterfly literally keeling over in a drunken stupor. My kinda insect! Alcohol intake aside most adult butterflies live for only a few weeks. The one on the left appears to have damaged its wing. Don't drink and fly! =o] ----- OWL BUTTERFLY Caligo memnon (eurilochus?) Classification: Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Mandibulata (Invertebrates) Class: Insecta (Insects) Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies | Admirals, Fritillaries, Emperors, Satyrs and Milkweeds) Subfamily: Brassolidae (Owl Butterflies) Genus: Caligo Species: memnon (eurilochus?) Common name: Owl Butterfly ----- Thanks for stopping by and for your up close and personal comments on yesterday's photo, Alien Eyes.

----- Olympus C8080WZ & PhotoshopCS. (430)

Comments (26)

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tibet2004uk

8:30AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Oh beauties!! 2 for the price of one!! The details and luminosity are awesome here! Perfect dof and focus points too!! Great capture Kortalouche!

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nathalie06

8:35AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

what a wonderful shot ! This sort of Butty is wonderful with their big eye... Perfect shot again ! Great !!!!

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CDBrugg

8:41AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

beautiful

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killerpumpkins

8:53AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Xlent. The one on the right looks like a dinosaur or lizard head facing left and slightly down. Great shot! KP

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Chaos911

9:15AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

hey cool shot!!!

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rayburg

9:44AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

I can see why they call m owl b-flies...another great sot of these little creatures..

BorisB

9:54AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

A beautiful image, or better: a masterpiece! Well done!

pimbotin

10:27AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

You should work for wikipedia! Definitely... Such accurate infos and shots...

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Onslow

10:55AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Gorgeous shot

camera2

11:29AM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Looks like you have managed to capture possible romance bwteen these two as one is a male and the other a female.

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Richardphotos

1:23PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

was this in a place for butterflies? beautiful macro and butterflies

Tedz

1:26PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Blondini meets another Tight Rope Walker :]

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jcv2

3:46PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Impressive capture, the details of these owl butterflies are stunning! They must be from below the equator and they're still used to walk with their feet directed upwards! :)

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Akinom

4:15PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

You're on a roll these days, aren't you!?! Superb catch, kort! v*****

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Digimon

4:15PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Love those psuedo eyes! Great shot! Wonder if there is Italian bistro music playing? Or techno? ; )

parb1194

6:43PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Impressive and beautiful capture of these pretty butties.

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hotracer2

8:06PM | Thu, 15 September 2005

Oh Wow..great pair..absolutely gorgeous:):):)..V

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sharky_

3:15AM | Fri, 16 September 2005

Beautiful capture of these butties. Very Kewl. Aloha

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Georges_H_Hoens

3:33AM | Fri, 16 September 2005

beautiful butty shot Kort !

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Valentin

7:14AM | Fri, 16 September 2005

The lighting on the butterflys is just great!Fantastic photo!!!

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Cosme..D..Churruca

8:53AM | Fri, 16 September 2005

Excellent photography... extraordinary !

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erskogly

10:17PM | Fri, 16 September 2005

Beautiful and impressive butterflies. Excellent macro (well maybe not exactly a macro - with a wingspan of 15cms they are bigger than a lot of songbirds...:).

cynlee

11:00PM | Fri, 16 September 2005

these are cool guys with their owl eyes! :] butterific!

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Punaguy

10:54AM | Sat, 17 September 2005

Very clean shot of these interesting looking buttys...lighting is immaculate bringing out the detail...2 for the price of one, how lucky can ya get...Aloha Bra!

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