Author Topic: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!  (Read 3705 times)

Øivind Tøien

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Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« on: June 27, 2020, 08:35:40 »

I had my timing perfectly with me for my last house/dog sitting, as the lilacs on location were just coming out. I knew from a previous occasion that the Hummingbird Clearwing moths could possibly show up, and so they did! I captured 2-2.5K frames over several days. Lighting kept changing, and the Hummingbird Clearwings kept coming back. It was an immensely fun challenge that I just could not resist every time I passed by even after my first long session. At 10 frames per second this only amounted to about 4 minutes of pressed shutter button!  Of course a very large amount went directly to the bin - about 400 made it to jpgs. For almost all of them I used the 300mm f/4 PF on my D500. I experimented with shutter speed and found that 1/4000 second gave the best balance between freezing movements and noise, although I also tried a few up to 1/8000 second if lighting was good - first time I ever used these short shutter speeds. I also tried a few high speed and real time videos plus a few captures at 15 frames per second with my AW1. There was no problem getting close as long as they were on the lower branches.

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Link to a slow motion video captured at 400 frames per sec. playing back at 30 frames per second showing how the clearwing searches for an open petal:
https://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-11/o190588485/c1/p3919619872-215.mp4


Links to three short clips captured at normal speed just to show how quick and erratic they are, wings not really visible to the eye:
https://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-11/o190588485/c1/p3919620322-200.mp4

https://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-11/o190588485/c1/p3919620323-200.mp4

https://otoien.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-11/o190588485/c1/p3919620319-200.mp4

(There are also some older high speed videos in the same folder from 8 years ago at the same location.)

Øivind Tøien

Kim Pilegaard

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2020, 09:20:26 »
Very nice pictures/videos and story! I had the pleasure of having this moth in my garden last year, but it is a bit to early in the summer to find it here yet.
Kim

Bent Hjarbo

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2020, 09:23:51 »
Thanks for sharing  :)

Hugh_3170

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #3 on: June 27, 2020, 10:10:02 »
Great work - splendid effort in getting these.  And thanks for the background details.
Hugh Gunn

Anthony

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2020, 10:39:17 »
Beautiful captures, composition and colours.
Anthony Macaulay

Øivind Tøien

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2020, 12:08:47 »
Thanks all of you for the enthusiastic comments, I really enjoyed capturing these.
Øivind Tøien

ColinM

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2020, 12:46:54 »
Thanks for sharing these Oivind, youre really getting your eye in.

I got a reminder how hard it can be to capture insects in flight this week.
A lake near us had hundreds of Dragonflies. Because it has been over 30°C here, the really interesting ones never rested.

Nasos Kosmas

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2020, 14:42:31 »
Very god job Oivid thank you :)

golunvolo

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2020, 17:39:07 »
That looks very challenging and you got wonderful results.

   Thanks for sharing it!

Matthew Currie

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2020, 17:52:24 »
The season is pretty well over here in Vermont, but the hummingbird moths, fortunately, love lilacs and rhododendrons.  They can be pretty hard to catch well, but I especially like their colorful tails.

Akira

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #10 on: June 27, 2020, 18:35:50 »
These are incredible captures of the artwork of the nature.  Thank you for sharing!
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

Bruno Schroder

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #11 on: June 27, 2020, 21:20:53 »
Waow, this is excellence at work ! Thanks for sharing, pictures and story.
Bruno Schröder

Øivind Tøien

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2020, 22:10:32 »

Thanks all for further comments. I am really glad you enjoyed them.

Yes, dragonflies in flight is a challenge I have not mastered, Colin. I wish there were more of them around to prey on the mosquitoes that keep pestering me while attempting to capture dragonflies and other subjects! A note is that that some dragonflies species are perchers that regularly interrupt flight while other species are able to fly more continuously.
Øivind Tøien

beryllium10

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #13 on: June 27, 2020, 23:29:07 »
Add my appreciation to all the other comments.  These are splendid!  Cheers, John

Øivind Tøien

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Re: Hummingbird Clearwing Moths!
« Reply #14 on: June 28, 2020, 03:11:53 »
Thanks beryllium10 for the kind words.
Øivind Tøien