Original - Moulting phase of a Southern Hawker Aeshna cyanea. Arthropods possess an exoskeleton which provides support and defends the animal from mechanical injury. The exoskeleton however, limits growth, and is periodically shed in a process referred to as moulting.

Edit 1 by Fir0002 - sharpened, NR, dust spot removal

Reason

Very high encylopedic value

Articles this image appears in

Southern Hawker

Creator

Bohringer

• Support as nominator -- Muhammad (talk) 14:07, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support. Very encylopedic, with good detail and good overall quality. Couldn't this be added to moulting? Nautica Shad es 14:14, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
  • I've added it.-- ragesoss ( talk) 19:58, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Comment Is there a particular reason why we're not presenting this as an animation? Papa Lima Whiskey ( talk) 16:04, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
  • IMO, a series like this works better than an animation because this way, a viewer can observe each image at ease, without any time constraints. Muhammad (talk) 16:37, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
    • Cf. Image:Cicada molting animated-2.gif ( FP). Papa Lima Whiskey ( todo) 17:08, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
      • Note that the frame changes significantly, so animation is likely impractical. Thegreenj 17:40, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
        • It would just have to be a bit slower. I personally find the Cicada one a bit too fast anyway. And it's by no means perfectly suited for animation either - the lighting varies quite a bit between frames. And just to pre-empt a possible further question - I don't think a real time video of the event would be out of place at all, and I think it would be a better alternative. However, I don't see that as a reason to oppose this image now. Papa Lima Whiskey ( talk; todo) 18:33, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
          • Is someone skilled enough to put together an animation? I think the cicada has to be an animation because of the poor background, but this one doesn't have to be. I do wonder about its impact as an animation, though. -- Blechnic ( talk) 20:07, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
            • I'll take a crack at an animation. de Bivort 20:51, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
              • NVM - I started to this, but between the shifting framing and lighting conditions, I don't think the images are amenable to animation. de Bivort 21:17, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
                • Okay. Thanks for trying. -- Blechnic ( talk) 21:32, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Comment Muhammad, would you mind going back to the originals and arranging them as a 4×3 grid? Thegreenj 17:40, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
  • Do you mean Image:Aeshna cyanea freshly slipped Q1.jpg? Papa Lima Whiskey ( talk; todo) 18:26, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
    • Oops! I thought Muhammad was the creator... But yeah, like that. Thegreenj 18:30, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support I'm in love. -- Blechnic ( talk) 19:24, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support. Amazing! Such a dramatic transformation after it leaves its old skin.-- ragesoss ( talk) 19:45, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support per the points mentioned by Nauticashades. Well done. — αἰτίας • discussion• 19:57, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support - Not only encyclopaedic, but a quality image as well. Applause. -- Meldshal (§peak to me) 21:12, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support for proving life is beautiful. What gorgeous images; I'm not in favor of an animation, even were it possible here, because I much prefer viewing these frames at my own pace. Also oppose the grammar in the caption. Should be: "The exoskeleton limits growth, however, and is periodically shed in a process referred to as moulting." -- Fletcher ( talk) 23:05, 27 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support With preference for edit 1. Despite some frames which have poor sharpness (i think due to low light) the overal sequence is very enc. -- Fir0002 00:05, 28 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support Brilliant. — Pengo 15:30, 28 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support. A lot more interesting than a lot of the bug pics that are nominated. Intothewoods29 ( talk) 20:04, 28 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support I wanted to nominate it here too after having seen it on Commons' FPC. I think I would have supported any of them alone. Amazing. Blieusong ( talk) 21:13, 28 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support Don't think I can say anything that hasn't been exclaimed above but I believe brilliant sums it up very well, very encyclopedic, very good shot(s). Cat-five - talk 08:30, 29 July 2008 (UTC) reply
• Support Edit 1 - Each photo is capable of being a Featured pic. Superbly done. And good job to fir on Sharping. -- 66.36.137.22 ( talk) 20:38, 1 August 2008 (UTC) reply
• Comment Is there any video of the same process? -- 69.127.161.198 ( talk) 03:01, 2 August 2008 (UTC) reply

Promoted Image:Aeshna cyanea freshly slipped L2.jpg MER-C 06:25, 3 August 2008 (UTC) reply