Flagrant Beauty (in my opinion, at least) by Chipka
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Description
Since first seeing what Tara calls the Fuller Brush Man of the caterpillar world, I’ve become inordinately interested in Tussock Moths…well…their larvae anyway. Now that Chicago has entered into its seasonal hot flash, I’ve found myself examining tree bark and random leaves for telltale signs of larval extravagance. I’ve discovered precious few caterpillars, but that may change.
On the night that I spun in circles on the corner of Belmont and Something, I discovered the one caterpillar I’ve managed to capture this year. As I spun and took stationary pictures of the same bench that appears in Corey’s (CoreyBlack’s) gallery, I noticed something fuzzy hanging before my face. I’d ignored it at first, thinking it was little more than a fast moving spider moving from tree branch to grass on a single strand of silk. On second glance, I discovered it was a caterpillar of some sort…something fuzzy and inordinately small: a new hatching, perhaps. It was night, and though I can manage a decent macro shot, I didn’t think I had a chance of actually capturing this little beauty ON its strand of silk.
As the caterpillar in question was dangerously close to a sidewalk, and thus pedestrians more than willing to squash a fuzzy little thing, I grabbed the larva in question by its silk strand and transplanted it to the trunk of a nearby tree. It moved fairly quickly, undulating up the tree trunk, and as it reached optimal eye level, I decided to try for a nocturnal macro shot, using ambient streetlight for focusing on my subject, and a flash to actually capture it. I fiddled with exposure settings, white balances and stuff like that, took a few shots, but only one of them came out.
It wasn’t until reviewing what I’d captured that I realized I photographed a Tussock Moth larva. Since spying a number of them near Chicago’s lakefront with the other Renderosity photo ninjas, these flagrantly gorgeous creatures have become something of a personal mascot to me. They won’t displace woodlice, my first official mascots, but they do run a close second! I was stunned that I’d managed to capture such a creature, especially since in night-light, it didn’t look as if it might have been such a critter. The details are unmistakable—those shaving brushes on its back, it’s upward pointing tuft of hair. There were Las Vegas Showgirl plumes on the front end of this creature, but they weren’t fully developed yet, and the head (normally the color of an overripe fire truck) was a bit more orange…non exactly ripe I suppose. At any rate, I’d found a Tussock Moth larva on the night that I spun in wobbly circles on Belmont and Something, and so it’s only fitting that I post my one good image of it here. I hope you like it, and as always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting.
Oh, and just so you'll know, I avoided postworking this photograph. I only cropped and resized it for posting. Everything else is just a matter of camera settings and holding my breath.
Comments (29)
NefariousDrO
Man, I'm impressed, you practically shot that one blind, but nailed a cool one! That's a beautiful critter. I used to see them as kids, never knew what they were but they sure were fantastic. Great photo!
jocko500
this is something here to see. i never saw one before. it a wonderful marco too
MrsRatbag
Wow, well done Chip!! I've never seen one of these, and you got a great shot!
Tholian
It's always great to get that perfect "night" shot.
bmac62
It is amazing that a squishy catapillar can be decked out in such exquisite finery. Great catch of this fancy wooly. You keep honing your descriptive powers and they continue to get sharper and sharper. Thanks for taking me along on this fun hunt! I hope word of this extra-curricular adventure doesn't leak to the wood lice community at large...you'll be finished:)
beachzz
Wow, this little guy is almost electric--what GREAT shot!!
MrsLubner
I have always thought these to be pretty but I do not get too close. They are are voracious eaters capable of defoliating entire forests and cost millions of dollars to control in the US.If you touch them, you'll feel you've been pricked by fiberglass. A few species, like the Brown-tail, They'll will leave you with a persistent and painful rash. I have always heard that if the caterpillar has long spiky hair, it hurts. So, if you please, I'll adore this creature in your amazing photo and step back from the real thing. :-)
Sepiasiren
Ouuuuuch--I mean lovely looking thing for a prickly puss--I would probably scream like a little girl if you tried to put it in my hand to get me to appreciate its beauty. Luckily for me the Chipka's of the world capture the essence of these creatures for to gaze upon them in relative safety--lol!
minos_6
Speaking for myself, I like the way that you parcel out the story of your famous night of spinning. My first impression was of Corey taking his beautiful bench photograph whilst you spun like a dervish, and a definite image of that evening was placed in my head. Now I find that whilst spinning you came upon and rescued this beauty. It's a great macro, and the more so as you must have still been feeling a little disoriented from your gyrations!
whaleman
I just had to laugh at the quote "Fuller Brush Man of the caterpillar world!" Just so, and great shot!
aksirp
real beauty! wonderful capture!
kgb224
A stunning capture my friend.
helanker
AAWWW! What a beauty, Chip. It really looks awesome and you made a great shot here. Well done. HE! Your Mascot :-) I am glsd you are faitful to the woodlice :-)
icerian
I am not sure, I prefer women beauties, you know. Nicely done!
durleybeachbum
SUPERB!! What a success, Chip, and I enjoyed the tale of the capture!
prutzworks
xlt shot from this critter
njb2000
Great looking caterpillar I saw one with a balloon type head and big painted eyes, the cats didn't want to go near it!
flavia49
fantastic!!
lucindawind
it is very beautiful .. I wonder what it will look like once its a butterfly ( or moth)
jmb007
tres beau dans son genre!!
Meisiekind
Very handsome critter and your shot is superb! What a neat find!
lick.a.witch
Wonderful descriptive narrative and amazing capture of a really beautiful caterpillar. ^=^
redchilicat
Really cool textures, make this image!
sandra46
of course beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... yet this alien version of a toothbrush is really beautiful. Wonderful capture! (and i hope it isn't poisenous)
CoreyBlack
Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Looks kind of like a pipe cleaner in drag! Or perhaps a porcupine that spent WAY too much time on Jenny Craig. It also kind of reminds me of that creepy critter that sucked itself into Keanu Reeves stomach in The Matrix. I can hear it purring with the 'lighgts' strobing on and off. Cool looking thing and another of your wonderful Gill Grissom macro shots. Now I know what you were filming between spins while I was resting on the famous bench. Great shot!
auntietk
Keep looking for these! It seems like if you saw a little tiny one in July, and we saw a nice big fat one in September, you've got at least a couple months in the middle of the summer when they should be out in force. I'm totally impressed that you were able to FIND one in the middle of the night, let alone get such a great shot!
danapommet
Beautiful capture of this caterpillar. Super detail in zoom mode. Dana
praep
This larvae are really cute - I found some similar here.
Juliette.Gribnau
pure beauty indeed !