Butterflies
Strange Life Form
Butterflies are such beautiful creatures with the colors and patterns of their wings. However, up close, they have the face only an alien mother could love. This photo is a stark reminder – though whimsical in flight and beautiful from a distance, they are still flying insects.
I believe this is a Blue Morpho butterfly. If you could see it with its wings open, you would see a spectacular, iridescent blue color. The Blue Morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world with wing spans from five to eight inches. Blue morphos live in the tropical forests of Latin America from Mexico to Colombia.
On this photographic trip to the Butterfly Palace in Branson, Missouri I tried, unsuccessfully, to capture one of them with their wings open. You can view their beautiful blue in a photo I captured on a previous trip here: Common Blue Morpho
This is one you may want to view in larger size to see more of the detail. (Or not…if bugs aren’t your thing.) To do so, simply click on the photo.
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Tropical Mix
One of the exotic butterflies at the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO was kind enough to strike a pose on one of the tropical plants. I’m not sure what kind of butterfly this is other than it’s something you won’t find flying around my neighborhood.
I like a few of the elements of this image. First, I like the fact that the butterfly’s antennae are cocked to the side. Everything else about this image seems almost staged so something a little “off” adds an touch of realism. I like the detail in the leaves, highlighted by the back-lighting. I like the detail in the butterfly’s wings – even though mostly dark, you can see the subtle shading and variation in pattern. I also like the overall, pleasing blend of colors in the frame. I didn’t do anything to set these various elements up; I just shot what I found, the way I found it.
You can enjoy more of the details by viewing the larger version. Simply click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Designer Dots
The seven dots adorning this large butterfly caught my eye while studying the amazing winged creatures at the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO.
I have no idea what kind of butterfly this is. It might be easier to identify if I had a photo of the upper side of the wings. Most identification guides seem to show the butterflies with wings open.
You can view a larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Buckeye Beauty
This little beauty is a junonia coenia butterfly; better known a the “common buckeye.” You’ve likely seen this butterfly in your own neighborhood.
Though the majority of Buckeyes populate the southern regions of the U.S., adults from the south’s first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada. I photographed this one on a recent trip to southern Missouri. A number of them (along with a few monarch butterflies) were feeding on a patch of asters next to a sidewalk at the resort we were staying at.
You can view a larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Feed the Flame
This distinctively marked butterfly was feeding on some tiny red flowers at the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in Branson, MO.
On a recent trip to Branson, Missouri I spent several hours at the Butterfly Palace getting a ton of butterfly images. I was also able to snap a few of the local, native butterflies in the wild. Stay tuned, as I intend to post a variety of butterfly photos in the coming weeks.
In my mind, this butterfly’s orange markings look like a custom painted flame design. I couldn’t identify this type of butterfly. Even a chart of butterflies on the wall at the Butterfly Palace didn’t have an example of this one, though there were a bunch of these beauties flitting around.
If you have a sharp eye, you may have noticed another butterfly in this shot, It’s the blurry orange and white spot in the upper left-hand corner.
To get a closer, more detailed look, click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Avid Gardener
I found this monarch butterfly carefully tending the coneflowers in a Missouri flowerbed.
I seem to be seeing more monarchs this year. I recently learned the monarch is also called by a variety of other names – milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black veined brown.
You can get a better, larger view of this one by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Red-spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly
I found this butterfly resting on the ground. I searched the Internet to identify it and found it to be a “Red-spotted Purple Admiral.”
This was a pleasant find while biking on the Ahnapee State Trail near the Bruemmer Park Zoo northwest of Kewaunee. This was the second such butterfly I saw. This one was kind enough to allow me to get close enough to snap a portrait. I”m not sure how it got the name Red-spotted, since its spots seem mostly orange which seemed consistent with other images I found online.
You can see more of the detail in this image by viewing the full-screen version. To do so, simply click on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Pauper’s Throne
This unlikely king takes a rather stately stance on an even more unlikely throne. This brown butterfly was photographed at the edge of our backyard in rural N.E. Wisconsin.
I spent a good deal of time looking for a similar butterfly on Google. I’m sure I looked through thousands of images, but was never able to find another that looked just like it. Consequently, I have no idea what kind of butterfly it was.
You can get a closer look by viewing the full-screen version by simply clicking on the image.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Flitting Among the Asters
On a warm summer day, this monarch butterfly was enjoying the weather and the wildflowers.
This was in a vacant field in the middle of an urban area. The warm sun and abundance of wildflowers were attracting a number of butterflies. Of course, they attracted me and my camera.
My goal was to capture the butterflies in flight. Not difficult to do with the number of butterflies in the area. The difficult part was to capture them close up and in focus. They fly erratically, up and down and every direction. Thankfully, with today’s modern digital cameras, you can snap hundreds of photos (if needed) without the expense of photo development to find the right shot. On this particular shoot, I believe I snapped about 140 shots and came away with several keepers. Still, while this particular butterfly is in focus, when you look closely, the image suffers from a bit of motion blur. (Did I mention they fly erratically?)
You can view a full-screen version of this image simply by clicking on the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Sitting Pretty
Creation is teaming with unique, delicate beauties for the observant who are persistent to see beyond the obvious.
Within the Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium in the Milwaukee Public Museum there are hundreds of specimens. This one, a Small Postman butterfly, (heliconius melpomene), was among the tiniest. (To view the largest, visit my previous post: Owl Butterfly.)
Postman butterflies are tropical butterflies found in Central and South America. They are most common along sunlit forest edges with flowers.
As sweet as they may appear, they have little to fear from predators. As caterpillars, they feed on passion flower leaves, storing up toxic chemicals they retained throughout their lifespan that makes them foul-tasting to typical predators.
You can get a better look at this beauty by clicking on the photo and viewing a full-screen version.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.