Flambeau. Julia Heliconian Butterfly, Dryas iulia, on Rudbeckia laciniata, Cutleaf Coneflower, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Netherlands and thus also our Hortus have been caught up by really hot weather much like that in the Tropics. Not that I mind; I rather enjoy it... And Tropical Butterflies, escaped from their glass hothouse, are frivolous on flowers outside in the Garden. Here's a Julia Heliconian, Dryas iulia, nectaring on a Cutleaf Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata. These Heliconians - flamboyant as they are - vary slightly in their markings. You have to look very carefully, though. Those differences distinguish various subspecies. Which one this is, I don't know and - given the hot weather - I've no patience to try to look it up. So Dryas iulia will have to suffice...
Flambeau. Julia Heliconian Butterfly, Dryas iulia, on Rudbeckia laciniata, Cutleaf Coneflower, Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Netherlands and thus also our Hortus have been caught up by really hot weather much like that in the Tropics. Not that I mind; I rather enjoy it... And Tropical Butterflies, escaped from their glass hothouse, are frivolous on flowers outside in the Garden. Here's a Julia Heliconian, Dryas iulia, nectaring on a Cutleaf Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata. These Heliconians - flamboyant as they are - vary slightly in their markings. You have to look very carefully, though. Those differences distinguish various subspecies. Which one this is, I don't know and - given the hot weather - I've no patience to try to look it up. So Dryas iulia will have to suffice...