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Monday, August 10, 2009

The Lime Butterfly





Although the Lime Butterfly/Papilio demolus is a common visitor
to gardens here, photographing it isn't the easiest thing! A fast
flier and never still, my attempts at getting a good picture wasn't
really successful. Until yesterday.

Every day it feeds on the Ixora or the Pentas but yesterday it
stayed still, not on a bloom, but on a green patch that covers
the boundary wall. I couldn't believe my luck as I clicked away...
The next four photos are from my earlier attempts.






This pretty butterfly is also known as---Lemon Butterfly, Chequered
Swallowtail, and Small Citrus Butterfly. As the name suggests, its
host plants are the citrus species. But in my yard it plunges straight
into the Ixora or the Pentas.















Well, I can't resist showing off another photo!! Now I'd love
to shoot this butterfly with open wings. It then looks like a
different species altogether. Though how long this'll take,
only time will tell.



14 comments:

Susie said...

Beautiful butterflies Kanak. I wish I could see some butterflies to take pics of.

Carol said...

What a beauty! Great that you got her with wings closed and open... she sure looks related to our swallowtails. Love the first shot the best! Sure hope she will not get caught in your spider's web!

tina said...

Just lovely! I can picture you chasing it around the garden trying to capture its beauty. Smile!

Anonymous said...

Hey Kanak, So very pretty; it was worth the wait. I was thrilled to learn that you Mother had the velvet pink banana plant - I thought of you when I first found it so thanks for telling me. I hope you are having a good week. Hope you capture some more great butterfly pics.

D said...

Kanak, so beautiful! and the rewards of patience... gardeners understand. ;)

Autumn Belle said...

Kanak, This is the beautiful butterfly that I have been trying to photograph! So many times but still no luck yet. Hurray! You got it.

Wendy said...

Oh, I love the name "lime butterfly" and you got such a good pic! Interesting garden, you have! I like to see what's growing here - and who is feeding on the blooms.

Shailaja said...

I'm flummoxed! You capture the most beautiful butterflies in your pictures! How do you manage it -- tell us honestly, do you wear wings?;)

Stephanie said...

Beautiful pictures! The butterfly is attractive. The butterflies in my garden are small and flies around pretty quickly. The yellow ones always catches my attention as they are bright and cheery. Happy gardening and phototaking. Oh, the flowers in your garden are so wonderful too.

Unknown said...

Thanks Susie...I wish you could! The pictures of swallowtails on your sidebar are beautiful!!

Carol, I hope not! That's what I thought too, looking at the patterns on the wings. Hope I can get her with her wings open again.

Tina...exactly what I do most afternoons!!

Thanks Mildred...always hoping for great butterfly shots!!

Di, thanks...you said it!!


Autumn Belle, I hope you do. Good luck!

Wendy, I've been thinking about a post like that too. It's waiting in the wings:)

Shailaja...initially, it took me aeons to get one blurry picture. But now I think they're getting used to my presence!!

Steph, they must be the grass yellows. Some of them are so vibrantly coloured. I hope you'll capture them too. And thanks!

lotusleaf said...

The photos are amazing! Beautiful!

Prospero said...

Kanak, great job photographing butterflies. I've been unable to photograph one myself (not too many around here - since it's such a coastal environment). You've done exceedingly well, though. Congratulations.

teresa said...

Beautiful shots of even more beautiful butterflies.

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful shots of the butterfly. Am also trying my hand to get few pics of the one in my garden, but li'l luck.