Saturday, July 31, 2010

Pale Swallowtail Butterfly

This first photograph was taken August 2008. Notice just a little blue showing. The rest of these photographs were taken this afternoon in my zinnia flowerbed,
which the butterflies all absolutely love.

Notice the blue on this one.
I apologize for all the photographs, and they are not all clear.
I was trying to capture every angle that I could.
Because I don't think I have ever seen one with this much blue on it,
and it looked much more bright yellow instead of pale while I was photographing it.

After looking at all these photographs I think it is a Tiger just like the one from 2 years ago.
Maybe it is in it's first days and the blue fades.

Just a thought, but I don't really know.
Hoping Hap will stop by and clarify for me.
Think this is why I don't photograph as much as I used to. When I get to the computer I grab all my reference books and spend way too many hours pouring over them trying to see the subtle differences in the butterflies and birds.
And then there is Etsy....on the Etsy site there is something called Treasury List. People that list on Etsy make these list of items they like, I made one here of things that flutter. Just click here and see the listing. I actually don't see what it benefits me to pick and build a Treasury List because if you follow the rules (which I did) you can't include one of your own listings. But you all know how well I like things that flutter and I do think I picked some very pretty items. The beaded butterfly pillow is gorgeous.
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18 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Leedra, I always love your photos --and explanations... Don't know why some of them have blue on them and some don't ---but I love the blue....

Gorgeous butterflies for sure!!!!

Hope you are having a great weekend. Are you enjoying those grandbabies?

Hugs,
Betsy

Dorothy said...

Gorgeous pictures of your butterflies!! I thought I read somewhere that the ones with more blue were the females. As I said before, there are just too many variations, I can't remember all that!!!

Jan said...

Stunning, Leedra.

Anonymous said...

Hi Leedra, I hope I can clarify.
The large amount of blue on the
hind wings of a yellow Tiger tell
you it is a female. The males may
have a couple of blue spots down there. Two books I would highly
recommend for the butterfly photo-
grapher are: Butterflies of North
America by Jim Brock and Kenn
Kaufman; and Butterflies through
Binoculars-The East by Jeffrey
Glassberg. I know it gives you
some satisfaction when you do find
the name in the guide, but if you
are in a bind for time, go ahead
and e-mail the pics to me and I'll
help as best as I can!
Hap in New Hope (MN)

Janice K said...

I thought it was a Tiger Swallowtail too, but I never knew the difference in coloring between the male and female.

We have had a lot more of them here this year; however, they are always flying way up high...I guess because I don't get enough sun to raise those beautiful zinnas like you have.

Beautiful, beautiful pictures.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Not only are these pictures beautiful,but now I have also learned something new.I will be watching for the male and female differences.
Blessings,Ruth

Anonymous said...

Just in the last few days, we are seeing and enjoying so many butterflies in the garden. Thank you for sharing you lovely pics and thanks to Hap for sharing the info.

ivars krafts said...

Thank you Leedra. These are beautiful!

Dar said...

I, too, pour over the books to find what I can about 'everything.' Had I only done more of this in my youth, my life may have taken a different direction. One of the coolest illustrations are found in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World by Paul Smart. It's a gorgeous read. Your Swallowtails are a delight to see.
Thanks for sharing
BlessYourHeart

~Cheryl said...

Oh, your butterflies make me happy! We just don't have too many around here -- maybe I should plant zinnias!

sebi_2569 said...

very beautiful photo; bravo

Rose said...

You got some great shots--every time I try to capture them, the wind is blowing what seems like 90mph every time. I know it isn't that strong, but it never seems to stop.

Shelley said...

I love when you show us all the angles of your photo subject. It's interesting what you can find such as the blue on this swallowtail. Very pretty. I hope Etsy is successful for you - you are such a talent!!

Susie said...

Leedra these are all beautiful! You did a great job capturing them.

Connie said...

The detail is superb. While you are busying learning, we get to sit back and enjoy it all.

Elaine said...

Beautiful shots! I enjoy seeing all the different angles

Glen Webber (Wildlife Photography) said...

Such great butterfly images. The 3rd one down has to be my favourite.

Wendy said...

Don't apologize, your photos are gorgeous! I haven't seen one swallowtail this year :( I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. I really like your second and third shot.

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