Friday, September 3, 2021

MORE FROM MEADOWLARK GARDENS...BUTTERFLIES

I was happy for the opportunity to observe so many butterflies at the garden.  Ninety-nine percent of these photos were taken by Gregg.

Here are a few facts about them.
Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.
Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.  
Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour.
Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again in the spring.
Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.
Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.
There are about 24,000 species of butterflies. The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!



The butterflies shown here are the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (yellow with four black bands on the front wings), the Eastern Black Swallowtail (black with two rows of yellow spots), and what I think is an Orange Sulphur (third photo from the top).  However, I wasn't able to get a clear enough photo of this one and it is a screen shot from a video, probably distorted.  It would not settle long enough for a photo.  I couldn't find an exact match anywhere.  Any help would be appreciated. 


65 comments:

  1. You got great shots of them in all kinds of positions and poses! I especially like the upside down ones. Thebes! I had somehow never associated ancient Egypt with butterflies, only Beetles!

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    1. Thanks Gigi, I will let Gregg know you enjoyed his photos :) I didn't know about Egypt's butterflies. I feel a little more research in my future, lol!

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  2. My goodness so many varieties.
    These photos are magic as I don’t see many butterflies down here. Hopefully I will later in the year.

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    1. Thank you Margaret, and I hope you will see more butterflies soon Margaret :)

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  3. Beautiful, beautiful things.
    My thanks (and congratulations) to the photographers.

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  4. WOW, these photos are beautiful. I hardly saw any butterflies this year.

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    1. Thank you Anne, I always enjoy Gregg's photos. I haven't seen too many either but the last couple of times out at the parks, we have seen many.

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  5. Hello Denise,
    Beautiful variety of butterflies. The photos are beautiful!
    Take care, have a great day!

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    1. Thank you Eileen, I will pass this on to Gregg :) You take care and have a great day also.

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  6. Replies
    1. Muito obrigado :) Fico feliz que tenham gostado. Um abraço e um bom fim de semana continuado.

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  7. These butterflies are beautiful. The butterfly is a symbol of the speed at which life passes. Congratulations on great photos. Have a nice weekend:)

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    1. Thank you Lucyna, I am happy you enjoyed my husband's photos. You tell a very good analogy about the life of a butterfly :)

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    1. Thank you Anni, I had the same reaction when I saw Gregg's photos :)

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  9. Awesome photos. Greg really knows how to take butterfly photos. They won't remain still for me to get a photo.

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    1. Thanks Red, I will let him know ) They are hard to take photos of that's for sure. For some reason they were very cooperative that day, all except the yellow one with the brown edges.

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  10. gorgeous!! butterflies are such beautiful creatures, these images are really spectacular!!

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    1. Thank you Debbie and they surely are gorgeous. The more I see them the more I want to learn about them :)

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  11. these are absolutely STUNNING! super captures! a few of them look like they need to be on a Japanese tapestry . Wow and Wow again. number 2 is my favorite if I HAD to pick just one

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    1. Thank you Sandra, I'll share your comment with Gregg :) He will be delighted.

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  12. Those butterflies are magnificent. Love looking at them.

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    1. Thank you Glenda, so happy you feel that way :)

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  13. Hello Denise,
    Another fascinating post with some superb images, Butterflies are such fascinating and beautiful insects, I had never realized they went as large as 12 inches wingspan.
    my best wishes ,
    John

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    1. Hello John and thank you :) Some of the facts surprised me too. Best wishes to you also!

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  14. These are simply fabulous. I love butterflies and what a beautiful selection you found! Thanks for the smiles today.

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    1. Thank you and you are very welcome Jeanie and I am happy you enjoyed hubby's photographs.

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  15. What lovely photos of the butterflies. They are really hard to take a picture of, as they flutter about so quickly. These are wonderful. Wow, didn't realize there were that many species.

    Have a peaceful weekend Denise.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Thank you Sheri, we found the facts interesting too. You have a peaceful weekend also :)

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  16. Wow … Gregg is an excellent photographer. Amazing to think a tiny butterfly with such a short life still flies enormous distances!

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    1. Thank you Penelope :) I will let him know you said that. I have always thought so too :) The facts about the butterflies were very enlightening to me.

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  17. Such beautiful captures by Gregg! Loved seeing them all.

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  18. Replies
    1. There are, quite amazing to think of all the different kinds there are around the world :)

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  19. Well, Greg did a great job taking photographs. I find the swallowtails hard to take pictures of. Monarchs seem to pose more.

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    1. We were lucky this day. I found a Monarch who flitted around from flower to flower though, and couldn't catch up with it. Maybe next time before they go to sleep for the winter.

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  20. ammazing photos - I could look at butterflies all day

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  21. Beautiful photos and interesting info.

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  22. Great series of pictures. This is a great time of year to photograph butterflies.

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  23. So many beautiful photographs, lovely butterflies.

    All the best Jan

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  24. These photos are gorgeous! Thank you to your husband and to you for sharing them and the wonderful facts about these amazing creatures, Denise.

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    1. Thank you Martha Ellen, and you are very welcome from both of us. So glad you enjoyed them and yes they are amazing creatures :)

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  25. Wonderful butterfly pictures! I will miss butterflies as the season ends.

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    1. Thank you Linda :) I will miss the butterflies also.

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  26. These are so beautiful! Everything is fattening up for winter!

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  27. They almost never settle long enough for me! You got so many more beauties than I would have.

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  28. Beautiful photos of the butterflies.
    I did not have much luck finding them in my neck of the woods this year.

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    1. Thank you GGG :) We were lucky that day for sure.

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  29. These are soooo beautiful. I love butterflies and moths.

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    1. Me too, I am always happy around them. Thanks Rose :)

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