We now return you to regular programming on this blog .... back to the 'seasons in the valley'. In mid-June, the moths and butterflies start dancing around the garden in surprising numbers if you watch closely. In the past two days alone I've spotted 8 different species, and numerous individuals of some of those species.
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is one of the first to arrive, and it's been fluttering around the yard for two weeks. I can count on seeing it when the Lilac is in bloom, where it's feeding in these pictures.
A close look at the beautiful soft underside of the Swallowtail's wings, with more orange than on top.
About the same time we usually see the hummingbird moth, though I've found it tricky to get a clear picture as its wings never stop moving. I finally tried putting the camera on a 'sports' setting to capture this one.
And a side view shows its long proboscis sipping nectar from the Lilac flowers.
This is a new one for me, a Summer Azure I believe. It flutters so fast and usually closes its wings on landing, so you rarely see the blue upper side of the wings, but when you do it's truly beautiful.
This is its usual posture; the wing underside a light grayish-brown.
Linking to:
Blogger troubles - is anyone else having trouble with the Blogger Dashboard these days? I've suddenly lost my list of recent new blog posts that I love to sit and read over coffee in the morning. The Dashboard only gives me one new post from a blog on my long list, and tapping 'View More' does nothing. I feel like I've lost all my morning friends, and have to go hunting for them!
They're real beauties, particularly that swallowtail.
ReplyDeleteNice butterfly shots! They are so hard to capture with a camera.
ReplyDeleteThese shots are quite spectacular. Recently we have been seeing quite a few Giant Swallowtails also.
ReplyDeleteWow - your pictures are spectacular. The hummingbird moth I find very difficult to catch. I never managed such nice pictures of it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! They are so hard to capture, I find. I've heard of a couple other bloggers having issues but not sure what has happened. I read mine on the sidebar but I think there might be some not coming through there as well.
ReplyDeleteWow beautiful butterfly shots.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of others having trouble with the dashboard too. I don't use it much so don't know how mine is.
These are such lovely little critters. I don't see many around here at the moment, but I hope to have a garden that they like next spring.
ReplyDeleteYes, many problems with Blogger lately, including only one posting in the morning dashboard. The worst is the constant crashes. But.. on to more fun topics. Your hummingbird moth and the summer azure just took my breath away. Wow!
ReplyDeleteYou succeeded spectacularly with your hummingbird moth photos. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteSuperb captures of these little beauties. Yep, my dashboard is doing the same thing. Grrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. I've not seen any butterflies yet.
ReplyDeleteDashboard seems to be working again this morning. Thankfully!
wow, great patience to get so many good shots of butterflies!
ReplyDeleteYour hummingbird moth photos are wonderful, such great detail, I like the way it has feathery projections that look like a hummingbird tail.
ReplyDeleteSuper photos of the hummingbird moth!
ReplyDeleteabsolutely exquisite!
ReplyDelete