Sunday 27 October 2013

Spring Butterflies

While spring has sprung here, the weather is changeable enough for Melbourne to live up to its reputation of having four seasons in one day!

During a brief sunny spell when we were at Lorne - in fact I was packing the car for the day when the sun came out - I noticed that there were a few butterflies about.

Closer inspection showed them to be Yellow Admirals and Australian Painted Lady.  Most of them looked a little battered, as if they had suffered during the winter.  I don't know if this is the case, but it feels like it could be true.

Australian Painted Lady
Yellow Admiral
Yellow Admiral
Yellow Admiral
Although the light in the last image was really hard - the pale patches on the wings of the butterfly were hard to keep under control - I like the way that the detail of the flowers show up as a corona around the flower spike.

You can find more macro shots at Macro Monday 2 and I Heart Macro.  SM

23 comments:

  1. What wonderful butterfly shots.

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  2. Hi Stewart; lovely photographs and now I'm wondering the life span of a butterfly. You say about them having suffered during the winter ... I kind of had in my mind a butterfly lives for a relatively short period; I must read up on them. I was today also trying to take butterfly photos at home here, when I download them, I may find they are the same butterfly as yours I think. There was quite a lot of them feeding on the Golden Sedums

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  3. HI Stewart Yes those butterflies lok a bit worse for wear. I reckon they over wintered. Lovely blue flower.

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  4. Great to see these spring pictures just as we're winding down toward winter in the U.S.

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  5. Nice to see the butterflies even if they are a little worn. The butterflies here have all headed south. I didn't see many butterflies this summer. It will be fun to see photos of them now that we are heading into winter here.

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  6. They're still very pretty. Nice shots of them!

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  7. Beautiful captures Stewart. Love the butterflies. We won't see them again here for a few months :)

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  8. we've still got some here in texas - but we're on the tail end of their season whereas yours are just ramping up again. :)

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  9. Great macro shots, beautiful butterflies, and oh, the look of spring!! I do love it! Hope you have a great week ahead, Stewart!!

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  10. We don't see the admiral here. Nice images!

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  11. Beautiful butterflies and lovely photos, Stewart!

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  12. Beautiful even if slightly battered. So Melbourne is one of those places where they say 'if you don't like the weather just wait an hour.". I didn't know that.

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  13. Pure Beauty!!! I miss our butterflies already!! Keep sharing your lovelies!

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  14. Wonderfull macros, best regard from Belgium, here storm Wind is annonced.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Golden-retriever-de-Louisette/207956535894302

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  15. They're so beautiful even if they look a little worse for wear.

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  16. Beautiful butterflies photos!
    Greetings, RW & SK

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  17. Do butterflies over winter? Never thought about it or assumed that they will die before….Anyway the corona is lovely!

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  18. I'm always amazed at how those butterflies can get battered and still be beautiful and able to survive.

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  19. Beautiful butterfly captures, Ours are gone until next year so it is sweet seeing such springlike pictures.

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  20. Beautiful Stewart! The light in the last photo is quite extraordinary, like a halo around the flower.

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  21. Wonderful pictures!!!We have in Spring the Admiral butterfly too!!!
    Dimi...

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