White-lined Sphinx Moth

Photo by Roger Rittmaster 3/7/2013

Roger writes:

[This] photo is a White-lined Sphinx Moth (Hyles lineata) nectaring on Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla). This was taken at dusk. For the camera buffs who might be interested¸ it was shot with a Nikon D300 camera, through a Tamron 180 mm macro lens, using a SB-900 flash. It was shot in shutter priority at 1/4000 second. Even that’s not enough to freeze the wings of the moth, but I got lucky, as the moth’s wings were almost motionless at the end of a beat.

Anne says: Thanks, Roger, for this amazing shot. I'm glad to have met you on 3/6 (and twisted your camera arm to contribute to the blog).