A KILDARE PHOTOGRAPHER has claimed the Irish national prize in the world’s largest photography competition.
A photo of a pink grasshopper taken by Chris Connolly from Clane was today announced as the Irish national winner in the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
Connolly wins a new camera and will be flown to London for the awards gala in April, while the photo will hang in Somerset House in the English capital from 24 April to 10 May.
Describing the image, Connolly said that the colour of the insect attracted him as he took pictures in Kilkenny.
“The colour of this grasshopper, in terms of percentage in normal Meadow Grasshoppers is less than 1%. Most grasshopper species in Ireland are greenish-brown in colour, but some have genetics that make them pink or purple-red.
It is called erythrism, which is an unusual and little-understood genetic mutation caused by a recessive gene similar to that which affects albino animals.
“The combination of red hair and freckles in humans is thought to be a form of erythrism. These grasshoppers tend not to make it to adulthood in the wild as predators easily spot them.”
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