ren
Aurelian
Natural History Fan
Posts: 100
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Post by ren on Oct 10, 2018 13:08:24 GMT
Butterflies are typically spread with their forewings pulled up.  Most of the time you see butterflies, they don't appear to be in this posture. They are something more like this:  Is the butterfly "spreading pose" entirely unnatural, or to they actually move their wings like this at certain times? Thanks. |
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Post by nomihoudai on Oct 10, 2018 13:23:38 GMT
The mounting pose is unnatural. It is a standardized way to be able to better compare specimens. In some Lycaenidae the forewing shoulder is so enlarged that you even run into trouble when trying to set them at 90°.
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Post by Paul K on Oct 10, 2018 13:41:18 GMT
When you watch butterfly flying in slow motion sometimes they push wings forward to 90 degree position but I have never seen one resting or feeding with the position we spread them. It was a Victorian style of spreading since long time not in practice.
Here is link to one of many slow motion videos where you can observe wings movement.
Paul
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Post by Adam Cotton on Oct 10, 2018 13:53:32 GMT
Some butterflies do move their forewings higher than perpendicular under certain circumstances. For example, when Papilio machaon is disturbed it may spread its wings out with the forewings pointing forewards to make it look as large as possible. Some butterflies also adopt a similar pose when sitting on a flower, presumably to clearly show off their aposematic markings (often it's the mimics that do this).
Of course this is not a normal pose for butterflies in general, and if they adopt a wing position like this it is only a short term response to an environmental stimulus or short term behaviour.
Personally I actually prefer to lift forewings slightly higher than perpendicular when spreading Papilio specimens, but it is absolutely personal choice how you want to spread them.
Adam.
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Post by nomad on Oct 10, 2018 15:43:58 GMT
The old 19th century Brits used to set their butterflies with the forewings back but today they are set straight to show off all the features of the specimen, however some like their forewings really high.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Oct 10, 2018 17:19:25 GMT
A well-set collection is a thing of beauty to those of us who like order and symmetry.  |
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ren
Aurelian
Natural History Fan
Posts: 100
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Post by ren on Oct 10, 2018 20:55:13 GMT
I though this was an interesting example of poses in an old photo.  |
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Post by deliasfanatic on Oct 10, 2018 23:38:17 GMT
Those are very much the Victorian style of setting and display.
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Post by nomad on Oct 11, 2018 10:59:42 GMT
who is that in the photo?
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ren
Aurelian
Natural History Fan
Posts: 100
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Post by ren on Oct 11, 2018 15:13:00 GMT
who is that in the photo? Don't know! I've got a copy framed in my office though. |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Oct 11, 2018 15:34:04 GMT
From a Google image search it seems that the photo is a "daguerreotype portrait of a gentleman butterfly collector" from about 1850. None of the links I found could offer any more information about the person in the photo.
Adam.
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