Dark Green Fritillary
Dark Green Fritillary / mesoacidalia aglaja. Longstone Edge, Derbyshire. 30/06/20.
'CAN YOU FEEL THE SWAY?'
When I reached the top of Longstone Edge, the light was great but there was a fresh, gusty wind which set the vegetation rocking in every direction. Far from ideal for photographing Dark Green Fritillaries ... and these hyper-active butterflies were my target that day!
There were a pleasing number of them on the wing but all very mobile. Eventually I found a small group of Musk Thistles which were favoured (occasionally), as a source of nectar. I decided to wait there.
Sure enough, single butterflies powered their way in to them but on landing, became either obscured or just made the briefest touchdown ... and off. Finally this individual landed and stayed. S/he worked around all the flowers in turn, coping very well as the wind tossed them about. It was impossible to make the sort of images I had planned, so I just fired away and hoped that I'd get something in focus. This is about the best left in a small set after the majority were assigned to the Trash bin!
Have just noticed it had lost one of it's antenna.
Dark Green Fritillary
Dark Green Fritillary / mesoacidalia aglaja. Longstone Edge, Derbyshire. 30/06/20.
'CAN YOU FEEL THE SWAY?'
When I reached the top of Longstone Edge, the light was great but there was a fresh, gusty wind which set the vegetation rocking in every direction. Far from ideal for photographing Dark Green Fritillaries ... and these hyper-active butterflies were my target that day!
There were a pleasing number of them on the wing but all very mobile. Eventually I found a small group of Musk Thistles which were favoured (occasionally), as a source of nectar. I decided to wait there.
Sure enough, single butterflies powered their way in to them but on landing, became either obscured or just made the briefest touchdown ... and off. Finally this individual landed and stayed. S/he worked around all the flowers in turn, coping very well as the wind tossed them about. It was impossible to make the sort of images I had planned, so I just fired away and hoped that I'd get something in focus. This is about the best left in a small set after the majority were assigned to the Trash bin!
Have just noticed it had lost one of it's antenna.