Finger food: Harvester butterfly, dorsal, on my finger R1298 Backus Woods, ON PFN
Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius), lapping moisture from my finger.
Backus Woods, Walsingham, Ontario, Canada.
June 16, 2013.
The next few photos feature this sweet little Harvester butterfly. I often see Harvesters at Backus Woods. They're so cute and personable! They seem totally unafraid of humans, and never seem to mind when I take their photograph.
This little fella let me spend an hour or so with him before flying out of sight. I've never seen one open its wings for a dorsal view while feeding--only when they're protecting their territory and showing off for the girls.
He let me take all the photos I wanted as he puddled along the sand road. He did take notice of me, and at one point, circled me, as if he was curious about this strange being who seemed to be following him around.
Having held Harvesters many times before (usually by coaxing them onto my finger), I held out my hand so he could sniff it, like a dog might. He flew right to my hand, circled once, then landed right on my palm. Undoubtedly, he could sense my perspiration--they do love the salty stuff.
Soon he was wandering around my hand, lapping moisture up with his tiny tongue. Harvesters must have the shortest proboscis of the butterflies, probably because they don't care for flower nectar. They prefer to puddle in damp sand, but also feed at carrion and excrement (ewww--where's my Purell!!?)
He and I spent quite a while happily hanging out together. :-)
All Photographs and Text © Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature.com (PFN).
All rights reserved. Licensing available.
Contact: Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature@gmail.com
Finger food: Harvester butterfly, dorsal, on my finger R1298 Backus Woods, ON PFN
Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius), lapping moisture from my finger.
Backus Woods, Walsingham, Ontario, Canada.
June 16, 2013.
The next few photos feature this sweet little Harvester butterfly. I often see Harvesters at Backus Woods. They're so cute and personable! They seem totally unafraid of humans, and never seem to mind when I take their photograph.
This little fella let me spend an hour or so with him before flying out of sight. I've never seen one open its wings for a dorsal view while feeding--only when they're protecting their territory and showing off for the girls.
He let me take all the photos I wanted as he puddled along the sand road. He did take notice of me, and at one point, circled me, as if he was curious about this strange being who seemed to be following him around.
Having held Harvesters many times before (usually by coaxing them onto my finger), I held out my hand so he could sniff it, like a dog might. He flew right to my hand, circled once, then landed right on my palm. Undoubtedly, he could sense my perspiration--they do love the salty stuff.
Soon he was wandering around my hand, lapping moisture up with his tiny tongue. Harvesters must have the shortest proboscis of the butterflies, probably because they don't care for flower nectar. They prefer to puddle in damp sand, but also feed at carrion and excrement (ewww--where's my Purell!!?)
He and I spent quite a while happily hanging out together. :-)
All Photographs and Text © Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature.com (PFN).
All rights reserved. Licensing available.
Contact: Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature@gmail.com