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Matapa aria
Red eyes are a feature of a large number of Hesperiinae genera from various parts of the world. All of these butterflies are either crepuscular, i.e. flying mainly at dawn and dusk; or are found in the depths of the forest where little sunlight penetrates even in the middle of the day. They therefore need particularly acute vision and high sensitivity in low light. In the eyes of all Hesperiidae the distance between the cones and rods, and the sensory cells behind them is greater than in other butterfly families. This allows more light to spill onto neighbouring rods, which increases resolution and sensitivity. In the case of the red-eyed genera the distance between the cones and rods is such that only certain wavelengths of light are reflected back to the observer. There are 8 Matapa species, all found in the Indo-Australian region. Matapa aria is the commonest and most widespread of these, being found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
when i press the button it took off, so only manege to get one shot and here is the result!
13 Comments
thanks Eva and Maria !!
very nice spotting and great information!
Love the description on the eyes. Nice shot!
thank you Mayra and Sergio !!
Beautiful as always, Nuwan. Congratulations.
Great capture!!
thanks everyone, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Looks like it's levitating via mind control. Fantastic shot.
You pressed it the right time!
Wow, great shot! Appropriately named as well.
That's great! Was the red eye obvious to your eye?
thanks Sachin, that was a lucky shot :)
wow,, very nice capture,