Tuesday 22 July 2014

Small tortoiseshell in disguise

At first I was annoyed that this small toirtoiseshell butterfly waspartly hidden by the grass, but then I realised that the grass is almost perfectly lying along the butterfly's body and it's really quite a cute effect!

If you're interested in butterflies andhow they're faring in the UK, why not take part in the Big Butterfly Count, which is happening from now until 10 August.

I also love how the thistle seed head in this photo is just at the stage of looking like a paintbrush! You can see the same effect better in this photo, which also shows how the thistle heads on one plant are at different stages of development.

Meanwhile I'm continuing to add more photos to the downloadable photos section of the Crafty Green Poet Etsy shop.

As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more. 

8 comments:

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Oh wow that is quite an awesome effect. Funny how photographic opportunities sometimes come about by happenstance.

Bill said...

Yes, letting it happen is often the secret to photography. To haiku, too, come to think of it.

Rambling Woods said...

Pretty butterfly.... Will be interested to see the results of the count..

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Hi Juliet,
I had never seen thistle until I went to Prince Edward Island in Canada. Was quite an exciting discovery for me. Made everyone wait in the car while I jumped out and took a pic.

Cutie pie butterfly. As a child, every summer brought the Monarch butterflies, but now years can go by without me seeing one. Sigh. Their numbers are declining but I can't remember why.

Hope you are resting well tonight.
:) m & jb (of course)

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Juliet,

What a pretty butterfly and I love the thistle.
Happy week
hugs
Carolyn

RG said...

I would if I was there!

Been pulling a lot of thistle this summer. With enough people, it is a good way to clear it out of a pretty large area!

Deb G said...

I often pick grass away from in front of flowers before I take a picture...but like you would have left it over the butterfly. Sweet! It's been a good year for butterflies here, more varieties and more swallowtails.

Jenn Jilks said...

We have thistle, and I spotted my first Monarch caterpillar in two years! It's going to be a good year!