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Thursday, November 27, 2008

All Wings, No Tail!

As the days grow shorter and colder, many winged creatures
have gone into hibernation. But there are some still out
there in full force, namely butterflies. If you remember
some of my older posts, I've whined about not being able
to photograph these beauties with wings wide open...Ah,
seems like that's history now! Ta da!


In my dream did I hear the secret moonlit whispers of the
butterfly fairies Midnight Convention where they decided
Terra Farmer had suffered enough?! And with a magical flutter
of a hundred-splendoured wings and a swish of anthers they've
granted me my wish! Too hazy to recollect now but they're
definitely 'still there' when I click away.


This beauty on my Money Plant (a.k.a. Devil's Ivy) and the Dumb
Cane is the Grey Pansy ( Junonia atlites). The underside is pale
with faint markings. This variety is common near water bodies.

There are many more on the bamboo grove. They're mostly
brown, and rather than being near flowers they seem to
feed on decaying matter.

This one does look like the Common Indian Crow butterfly
(Euploea core). I found out that my home state, Assam, has
over 500 species of butterflies. Although it has only 2.64%
of India's landmass, it has 50% of the butterflies found in
the entire country. Isn't that wonderful? However, there's
very little conservation activity in third world countries
and India too lags behind, here.

Found this swallowtail amidst all the tangle recently. Since
then this area has been cleaned up!

A skipper too! As I was about to click, it suddenly took off.
Just take a look at that proboscis!

Now for some 'beecrobatics'! This one ( not sure about the name)
does not look like my usual dead-bamboo-loving carpenters. But
it has a fat body and loves the iron rod sticking out of my
neighbour's wall.

Dead and dewy--a carpenter bee. I'd seen it trying to clamber
up this planter a day before. A few bees, those who missed the
hibernation bus, and may not have timed their movements right,
were in the backyard, in different stages of dying. They
were so sluggish, they could barely move. Trying to help
them was useless. They simply coud not clamber back into
the bamboo opening even with a little help from me.

Found this lone red flitting about yesterday just as
I was wondering whether they'd all said their goodbyes.

And this little swinger on the coconut fronds was snapped
about a week ago. Just two types seen recently.


Early in the morning, as I was taking dewy shots, I found this
very fuzzy, white moth on the underside of a palm frond. Clever!

We see so many moths around the house. Many of them are pale--
either white or cream with brown splotches. Since the bedroom
floor's almost the same colour as this moth, I quickly placed
it on my phone for the contrast.

I hope you have enjoyed viewing what could well be my last
winged visitors this year. Except for the butterflies...
(maybe).

12 comments:

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Most fascination post Kanak, you are so good and quick with you kamera, just brillant!

So sad to see all the violanceand bloodshed in MUMBAI so much hatred.

What happened to love, peace and understanding?

LOL Tyra

Anonymous said...

Kanak, these pictures are fascinating. I enjoy your posts so very much and am always eager to learn more about your area. The sky is so blue and clear in some of your pictures! I hope you have a safe & happy day.

tina said...

That kind talking to the butterflies maybe worked for you?:) Or maybe it is just the kind of butterfly, some are very shy you know. Love the 'beecrobatic' term and the bamboo. It is amazing your country has 50% of the butterfly populations with so little of the country's land mass. Way amazing. Your area is very diverse for sure.

I have heard of the violence in Mubai. Sunita mentioned it on her blog, now it is everywhere on the news. You all take care over there. Words cannot make it better from me, but I wish peace for you all.

Unknown said...

Tyra, thanks. I've been glued to the TV screen...just hoping that it will end soon.

Thank you Mildred. At noon nowadays, the skies are clear but it's very hazy in the mornings.

That's right Tina! I don't know how far it's true...websites differ with statistics sometimes. Out of the 34 bio hotspots in the world, the n.e.region is one of them. So one can imagine the variety of flora and fauna found here. Some really great photos can be found at www.rawtourism.com.

I got in touch with Sunita this morning on Blotanical. Living with terror has become so real nowadays.
Thanks, Tina for your message and your thoughts...

Torsdag 1952 said...

Good to see butterflies all over the word.
14 days ago Isaw the last one in our area and last weekend we got the first snow.
Have a nice time
Hallo from Germany

Carla said...

Good things come to those that wait! What beauty! Its wet and dreary out today, so if any of my winged friends are around, I'm sure they are tucked in some place dry, snoozing:)

Unknown said...

Torsdag, hi! Thank you for visiting. I did go over to your blog but the comment section didn't work out for me.

You've got the most amazing photos! I'll try again next time. Cheers!!

Carla, how true!! Patience can be the key to so many delights. Now it must be really cold there. Glad to have you pop over.

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Patience paid off for you Kanak! Great shots of these flying beauties. You have alot of activity going on in the garden right now. Our visitors are long gone for warmer places. :)

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Hi Kanak, great shots of your butterflies. They are so lovely and your comments suit them to a tea.

Unknown said...

That's right Racquel, and thanks. Butterfles will still be around, I guess.

Hi Trudi! Glad you liked the comments. Thanks!

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I like your pics! I think the butterflies and dragonflies are my favs.

Sue

Unknown said...

Glad you do Sue. Thank you for stopping by.