Judy Royal Glenn Photography. Nature and wildlife photographer.
I feel the Lord allows me to see nature through His eyes. Hopefully, these photos will draw you to Him!
This is Lucky Jr. eating away at this common milkweed. He is named Lucky Jr. because he is lucky to be alive.
I had a monarch caterpillar named Lucky, but he got sick and did not make it. So, I named this one Lucky Jr.
A head count is necessary when swapping out fresh milkweed for the little critters to make sure no one gets left behind. At this time, they were only two centimeters long.
One caterpillar was missing and I had no idea where he was. I looked everywhere. I kept a container on my table to put all the old leaves in. There he was on a leaf!
He has his own milkweed plant and butterfly cage so when he becomes a butterfly, I can give him his special name.
Location: Athens, Georgia
To purchase wildlife and nature fine art prints, please visit my website:
A time-lapse transformation of a black swallowtail caterpillar into a chrysalis. (Photographer Tips)
This time-lapse shows the incredible process of a black swallowtail caterpillar transforming into his chrysalis. It is such a neat process to watch. Make sure the volume is on as I set it to music!
For photographer wanting helpful tips for photographing a time lapse, I will share a few of my observations. Knowing when the caterpillar is almost ready to break out of his caterpillar shell can be a guessing game unless you know a few helpful hints.
Here is the timeline of events for this caterpillar:
1) He purged his food - it basically looks like diarrhea. 7/25 @ 5:22 p.m.
2) He started attaching to the bamboo stick 7/26 at 9:15 a.m.
3) He began the visible transformation of his chrysalis @ 5:21 and was finished transforming @ 5:25
Hints to know when the transformation is about to begin: The first thing I begin to notice is the caterpillar's sections began to elongate. He began to wiggle more and more moving the sections fo his body up and down. The top clear band at the top of his head will begin to show the green chrysalis underneath. It looks like a bumpy sponge.
The bottom sections of his body will appear a tad thinner as the chrysalis moves up. The key evidence for me to know if it is almost finished is a white ligament type structure appears on the side of his body. I don't know what this is called. I am making a big assumption to guess this aides the outer shell of the caterpillar to be moved down. The caterpillar's shell will split near the top and once the shell is shed, it falls off.
For shooting, I used a light to illuminate the caterpillar and also used a very cheap flash with limited controls. I took a photograph every 10 seconds for the duration using the in-camera time-lapse setting.
I started shooting once I saw the body elongate and more consistent movement. I can't remember my exact settings. I know I shot @ f/7.1.
In the distance, I used a colored green cloth and attached it to a foam board for a nice background. I used Final Cut Pro X to edit the time-lapse.
This is only the third chrysalis I have watched transform. I am still learning myself. If I can help you, please leave a comment:)
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Little did I know this day would change dramatically for me. All I wanted was a few black swallowtail caterpillars from my friend. I left her house with five and accidentally bought one when I purchased parsley for them to eat.
So much of my time and attention have gone into these little fellows as I have cared for them in my house. I wasn’t planning on them staying in my house. That’s just how it worked out.
I bought parsley, and dill, and put them into an enclosure surrounded by tulle so they wouldn’t wander around in my house.
Two caterpillars have successfully turned into a chrysalis. I tried doing a timelapse for the first time and actually captured good footage of the transformation. The video will be published later.
The hard part was having to bury two in my front yard. I know they are just caterpillars, but it was difficult knowing they died.
I have two caterpillars that still haven’t transformed. I am looking forward to watching them transform into a chrysalis and watching the other turn into a beautiful butterfly. God’s nature is so amazing!! To view my time-lapse video of the black swallowtail caterpillar changing into its chrysalis, please visit my YouTube link by clicking here.
To purchase wildlife and nature fine art prints,
please visit my website:
If you have been following my work, you have probably heard me say before that I pray and ask the Lord to show me or to bring to me what He wants me to photograph. This particular day was no different.
Recently, I was sitting in a pop-up chair at a farm in Sautee, Georgia photographing hummingbirds when this little yellow wooly bear caterpillar crawls up towards my feet. I took advantage of the situation and put the caterpillar on various flowers to photograph him.
This summer, I found three
different caterpillars in my front yard within a few minutes of each other. I
decided to place them in various locations to photograph them.
I put this Eastern tiger
swallowtail caterpillar on my red salvia to add a pop of color. The red
reflecting off the flowers makes the caterpillar look like some sort of a
strange teddy bear with rosy cheeks.
I have been noticing the beautiful purple flowers in my neighbors yard and wanted to photograph them. I saw my neighbors out walking the other night and asked them if it would be okay. They did not mind at all.
I went out yesterday morning and enjoyed photographing the beauty that was before me. The clematis flowers were stunning.
While editing I noticed a visitor on the flower that blended in so nicely because it to was the same color as the flower. Can you see it?
