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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

My First Video: A Camouflaged Looper!

   I've always wanted to make videos/mini-movies of all the really interesting things that happen in the yard, but something always stopped me, like "I don't know how to use the camera, I don't know how to use the software, and I don't have time". Well, I've never been one to read an instruction manual (that would be boring) so I just kinda figured it out as I went along. I realize I'm no Quentin Tarantino, but here's my first attempt, I found a willing participant in a Camouflaged Looper on some Joe-Pye out in the front yard. Just in case some of you folks have never seen a camo looper, I thought this might be a good subject to share. By the way, to refresh your memory, a camo looper is the larval stage of a Wavy-Lined Emerald moth. Loopers are the more formal name or what we called inchworms as a kid. Camo loopers also look different based on whatever plant they're on, kinda like chameleons.


*Don't forget to view the video in larger format, it'll look better that way and the quality is actually pretty good. Click the "Watch on Youtube" button in the bottom right corner of the video window. Once in Youtube you can enlarge it again by clicking the "Large Player" button in the bottom right corner of the video.

10 comments:

  1. What a great video - a beautiful job. I was just thinking about trying this yesterday (I had some video of a hummingbird) but was intimidated by the idea of editing it.

    Kudos to you!

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  2. Nice! I love how you added in the text.
    I had the camouflaged loupers on gray headed coneflower this year.

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  3. I like it! Better than 99% of the stuff on the telly!

    PS - Are the webworm moths 'good guys' or 'bad guys' in the garden? I've seen them on occasion and never knew if I should be welcoming them with open arms or shaking my metaphorical fist at them...

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  4. Ellen-Thanks! Don't be intimidated, it's not that hard, if you can publish a blog, which you obviously do well, you can do videos, it just takes time. Go for it!

    Heather-Thanks, I thought the text would help illustrate things a bit, especially for the uninitiated.

    Aaron-Wow, 99%? Yeah, there's not much on now except repeats and Olympics. The Ailanthus moth has a curious story: It's not "Bad" per se, it's a natively occurring insect, and unusually a diurnal moth, but it's primary food source and namesake, the Ailanthus altissima or Tree of Paradise, is one of the worst non-native invasive trees in North America. I think the moth is quite lovely, no need to shake your fist at them.
    :)

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  5. Fantastic, I really like the part where you can see him eating the stamens.

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  6. Jason-Thanks! I felt pretty fortunate to get that shot, being patient is hard.

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  7. Really cool! Keep them coming!

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  8. Great video. I don't think I can get as close of a shot as you did--I liked the stamen-munching part too. :)

    I agree, editing takes time, but the program(s) I've seen so far are very user friendly. Go for it, Ellen. :)3

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