Tuliptree Blossom with Guest
Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Butterfly
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.
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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.
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.
Beauty by Design
This colorful butterfly took some time to rest and feed on the sedum plants in our flower bed.
I’m always intrigued and impressed by the color and patterns in nature. Surely, any reasonable person can see, there is a master designer. One of the interesting aspects of seeing a butterfly this close is noticing the presence of hair on their back. You don’t really notice that when they are flitting about the flowers.
I’m not exactly sure what kind of butterfly this is. I spent some time trying to find another butterfly with similar color and patterns on the wings, but I was unable to spot one in my Google search. If you can identify this butterfly, I’d be interested in knowing.
You can get a larger, more detailed view of this image by clicking on it.
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.
Tree Hugger
I love macro photography because it brings things that are small, and often missed, closeup and in sharp focus. It reveals the detail that we rarely have the opportunity to observe and enjoy.
This small butterfly was one of several I found mingling around the base of a tree in the woods of Missouri. It seemed like a gathering of old friends. Unfortunately, I was’t able to get a good shot of the group’s activity because, at the base of the tree, there was a good deal of tall grass that shielded my view. This momentary loner was kind enough to sit still long enough for me to snap its image. An online friend helped me identify this as a Hackberry Emperor butterfly.
By the way, the image you see here was flipped 180-degrees. When I snapped it, the butterfly was facing downward. I thought it seemed more natural and a little easier on the eyes to have it positioned upward.
There is much more detail to be seen in the larger version. To see it, 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.
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.
Paper Kite
This beautiful, high-contrast butterfly is known by the name, Paper Kite. It’s technical name is Idea Leuconoe. The name game doesn’t stop there, either. It’s also called a Wood Nymph butterfly, Large Tree Nymph butterfly or simply, Rice Paper butterfly.
The Paper Kite has a weak, fluttery flight interspersed with gliding due to the high ratio of their wing-size to body-size. You would think, with their bright color and bold pattern, they would easily fall victim to predators, but like monarch butterflies, they are poisonous or highly unpalatable and are not often attacked.
The Paper Kite’s natural territory is Southeast Asia. Apparently, it is a common resident in butterfly greenhouses and live butterfly expositions. I found this one at the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in Branson, MO.
You can view a larger version of this image by simply clicking on it.
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.
Monarch Squadron
All three of these monarch butterflies are in flight. They were circling, and eventually landing and feeding on, the purple asters in a vacant field near the building where I work.
I didn’t see a lot of butterflies this year, but when I did, it was all within a few weeks at the end of the summer. This photo was taken in late September.
In the interest of full disclosure, you should know this is a composite image. I combined three separate photos – each with one butterfly – to create this image of three butterflies. They were all photographed exactly as you see them…in the location that you see them…just at different moments.
You can view more detail in a larger version of this photo, 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.
Exotic Pole Dancer
A monarch butterfly clings to a thin twig, displaying its beautiful markings and color.
You can get a better view by clicking on the photo and opening a larger 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.