After a long dry season of 4-5 months (Jan-May), rain seems to be the rarest commodity in this part of the world, and is longed for, prayed for, excited for! Everything, especially living things wait for it. But some of us have other things in mind aside from the rain, and that includes butterflies. After a few downpour, in time for the flowers and greens, they are seen swarming around, joyously and seemingly in rituals.
blues and blacks linger on dried branches, which they seem to like so much, whether dead branches (left) or still green (right). Maybe the dill aroma make them a bit tipsy or hallucinate as they don't seem to fly far from the plant after minutes of sucking. They just converge there day and night! I actually planted this plant after observing that they like it so much. (Ideopsis juventa-4, Euploea mulciber, Parantica vitrina, Euploea mulciber (6)
Tirumala limniace (2) still clinging on the dead dill branches
Most of them though still prefer the nectars: Duranta erecta (left) and white morning glory (right), Junonia hedonia
Lemon emigrant, Catopsilia pomona are so plenty because of the big Casia alata tree or golden shower (right), the leaves of which they mostly devoured with relish. Those above right are their catterpillars.
The swallowtails, Papilio alphenor -male (left) and female (right) prefer the nectar from Clerodendrum intermedium
The yellows, Appias olferna (left) and Catopsilia pomona (right) seem like to prefer the Duranta erecta nectar. I like them there also for the color contrast.
Euchrysops cnejus (blue one), Pareronia boebera
Identification mostly due to the kind help from Dr. Peter B. Hardy
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Wonderful pictures! Love the sight of these beautiful butterflies.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day.
Don't apologise for the length of the post ... I could look at so many more of your lovely butterfly photos. You're so lucky to be able to see so many different kinds ... all just so gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos. I always love seeing butterflies captured in their surroundings. You have some I've not seen before and so many at once.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
Rain is rare here too and it has been so rough this season. Those butterflies are a feast for my eyes. The blue ones with the black veining are incredible!
ReplyDeleteWow! How did you manage to get that many butterfly photos? Wonderful shots! I have some butterflies and moths waiting to be posted.
ReplyDeleteThe butterflies are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteAndrea you have many more that we don't have here on the island. Lovely shots!
ReplyDeleteAndrea
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are beautiful. The butterflies are very lovely too.
Thank you for visiting my blog in Canada and your comment about my fall wreath.
Just looking at your great pictures
I am sure I can collect many flowers und berries to create a wreath for you.
Gisela
These are gorgeous pictures. I'm delighted to find your blog and hope to see more of this.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like I am viewing a butterfly movie today and I love it! I have never had butterflies visit my garden in groups, only a solo one at a time.
ReplyDeleteWow! You are seeing a lot of butterflies! And you have taken great photos. I seem to see a lot, but rarely can get the shot. I do love seeing the different butterflies on the other side of the world. They seem so much more exotic and beautiful, probably because it is something different to my eyes. Happy Rainy Season!
ReplyDeletenice one....seems like your a botanist your great in naming those flower that you posted. the strong and the flexible
ReplyDeleteWow you captured a wonderful variety of flying flowers in your garden! :)
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! And lovely too that we're in sync with our butterflies. Thank you for your sweet comment at Hill Country Mysteries. I believe in the hope we see in butterflies.
ReplyDeleteI love all your comments and responses here, it makes me post earlier than usual, hahaha!
ReplyDeleteSteph - Have a great day too!
Bernie - thanks for the encouragement, if i will not stop it will already be too heavy for some of your computers! haha. Yes i am lucky to have chanced upon those swarm of beauties. Actually, they are more in the actual scene, though not seen in the angle of the photo. Actually it really is a swarm, a video could have been better!
FlowerLady - there are other designs or species which hatched at different times, but that time those emerged. I also am not lucky to shoot them early when they are still not fluttering the wings, maybe they are still hiding from view.
Tina - yes they are beautiful and those blue are endemic in our area. Actually there are variations in venations and hue, some are transparent white which are so elegant.
One - it was just a lucky weekend when all of them are just there, hallucinating due to the dill aroma. Those greens and yellows are difficult to shoot coz they don't like the dill, hehe.
Linda -thanks. I wish i have your macro lenses and those with f2.8, haha!
Helen - thanks, i just include those which i know are not common to many people.
Gisela - if only we are nearer each other we can join forces in doing those wreaths, i also love putting my hands in so many things to create. I cross stitch, embroider, etc earlier on, though after creating a few i dont want to reapeat doing them.
ReplyDeleteBirdwoman -thanks for your visit. Yes surely i will post more of those, so please come more often. I hope you like orchids too, which i normally love posting.
Autumn Belle - they are scattered in wide areas, we have 2 Cassia alata trees and the yellows and greens feed on those. We also have many species of citrus catering to swallowtails larvae, and lots more because of our biodiversity garden, haha.
Floridagirl - the more common colors to you are maybe here too but they come at different times. These are just those which converged during one weekend of my visit.
Coffeveggieadict - yes i normally would love to give Scientific names of plants to limit confusions, because common names vary depending on places and culture. I am not a botanist but a horticulturist/horticulturalist who delves on so many things, haha!
Racquel - yes they are beautiful flying flowers. thanks for dropping by.
Kathleen -serendipity or syncronicity with great minds, don't you think so, hahaha! thanks for your visit, come more often.
These are such beautifully detailed photos. Thanks also for the information, I always enjoy learning from photographs
ReplyDeleteThese varieties of butterflies show that you are living in the country of great biodiversity. Most of the butterfly species you share in this post are new for me. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images.
ReplyDeleteHello Andrea,
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat! I do love butterflies and it was so wonderful to see species that I have never seen before in your incredible photos!
wow..they are so pretty!! it's great that you were able to capture a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteI love those blues and blacks! those and the swallowtails are my faves. I would not be able to stop myself from posting all these gorgeous photos either.
ReplyDeleteThose butterflies are delightful! What beauties! I've seen caterpillars on my dried up dill plants, but I don't remember if I've seen butterflies on them. The swallowtail caterpillars eat dill and parsley here in Nebraska, U.S.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my Camera Critters post. I think I post more photos than you do. LOL
Poetic shutterbug - oh that comment is unexpected, thank you!
ReplyDeleteBirdy - i thought we share some common species, knowing you did not have them there is also good to know.
Noelle - yes i don't often post butterflies, but i have lots of them in the garden during the rainy season, and have lots of photos too.
Marites - thanks for visiting, i hope you will drop by more often.
Wendy - yes posting is difficult to stop, now prodding me to study making collages.
Sue - here the more colored swallowtails larvae prefer the citrus species, not the dill. The adults love to sip the dill though, i dont know for what reason which seems making them hallucinating. haha
Exquisite butterfly captures Andrea. Wow! Gorgeous and so exotic to me. So many! I see what you mean in your comment to me! I can only see your varieties in Butterfly Houses. It is wonderful to get rain when we need it. ;>)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME PICTURES! Wow!!!
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I'm just getting caught up on a couple of weeks of your blog posts. No need for you to apologize for the number of photos; they were delightful! -Jean
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