As adults, tussock moths are brown and nondescript. On the other hand, the larvae are quite spectacular. My wife served as caterpillar wrangler and held the plant stem for the shot.
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Pertinent technical details or techniques:
D500 200mm f4 (1/160sec at f18, ISO 1250, fill flash-2ev) slight crop for comp, DeNoise, Levels. Shadows and Highlights adjusted in Lightroom.
Is this a composite? no
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Wow, Jim, this is really nice. Details obtained throughout the caterpillar, and that nice background makes him stand out nicely. It sure doesn’t look like you used a flash either. Excellent in every way, in my opinion. I can’t think of anything that would improve it.
That is one heck of a caterpillar. Funny how nature works this way sometimes. I love that your wife helped out. Sometimes my husband has been called into duty to hold branches out of a scene so I can get a cleaner shot. As this is a pretty literal approach to presenting this critter, the only thing I can think of is possibly a scosh of saturation…that pink!
Hi Jim, nice view of this caterpillar and great you got all of it sharp. Very interesting subject. Do these caterpillars deliver a sting or are they harmless?
You’ve inspired me to post a shot of an Erebidae larva I saw the other day, Jim. Very nice shot and you composed it excellently. @Allen_Sparks the hairs can cause allergic reactions, so be careful.
