Friday 19 August 2016

Algarve and Butterflies

It had been years since I had seen a Monarch Butterfly.We used to see them in September about the time of the grape harvest, but in many a year, there had been no sign of them, so a Monarch butterfly was also on my list to look out for. I know that most butterflies are attracted to the Lantana flowers, so that is where I looked for them, and eventually found just one, so here are a few captures, together with a few more butterflies and two moths.  


The Monarch,  Danaus plexippus
 


 

I had hoped to get a shot of their beautiful wings wide open, but no such luck.
 

 

The female Common Blue  Polyommatus icarus  (Lycaenidae)
 

The  Swallowtail  Papilio machaon  (Papilionidae)
 

The Swallowtail   papilio machaon  (Papilionidae)
 

The Scarce Swallowtail  Iphiclides  podalirius  ( Papilionidae)
 

The Sloe Hairstreak   Satyrium acaciae   (Lycaenidae)
 

Hummingbird Hawk moth in repose.
 

A closer look at this moth.
 

Scarce Swallowtail
 

The Hummingbird Hawk Moth
 

Click on the link if you would like to see more critters. A big thank you to Eileen for hosting her fun meme Saturday's Critters. SATURDAY'S CRITTERS

48 comments:

Linda said...

An absolutely gorgeous series, thank you so much for sharing these lovely photos and the names of each one! The only one I know for sure is the Monarch, so I really appreciate you taking the time to share the names, too.

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful Monarch Butterfly, and the Swallowtail, perfection.

MadSnapper said...

I have never seen a scarce or a humming bird moth.. your photos are stunning.... they look like they could fly out into my room

Nick Morgan said...

Fantastic pictures Sonjia. It is rare to see a Monarch with its wings open and you have done very well with the Swallowtails, which never seem to be still when they are feeding. I love the Sloe Hairstreak, a butterfly I have never seen. I think your stationary moth is also a Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

Aritha V. said...

Thank you sooo much. I love butterflies. On Saterday I will share some with you :-)

Marijke said...

What a lucky girl you are to be able to photograph this angels. Fantastic photo's Breathtaking. (I once knew your name but can't remember it anymore. A feast to the eyes.
Have a wonderful weekend. And kisses for Mel!!

Gosia said...

masterpiece of nature

Christine said...

Absolutely gorgeous photos of the butterflies & moths! Your perseverance paid dividends & even if the monarch did not allow an open wing shot, it still posed beautifully for you! I love all your photos!

matti niilola said...

Hi. So lovely butterfly photos. Is that an unknown butterfly The Hummingbird Hawk Moth. Looks a bit the same

Breathtaking said...

matti juhani niilola

I am sure you are right. I wasn't sure at first, as I have never seen a stationary Hummingbird Hawk Moth before. Thank you for your comment.

Tammie Lee said...

they are each so lovely
beautiful images!

Teresa said...

Son todas preciosas. Saludos.

TexWisGirl said...

they're beautiful. i saw a few monarchs here this summer and was happy.

Michelle said...

You have captured some wonderful details on these butterflies!!!!

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

So beautiful!! My pictures of butterflies are not as clear as yours.I only saw a pair of monarchs mating at my friends farm this year,I am going to dig some of their milkweed out to plant here.Thanks for sharing!phyllis

Nancy Chan said...

Such a great and wonderful series of gorgeous butterflies! Have a great weekend!

Len said...

You have captured some stunning images once again and you tell us all the names too! Thnk you.

Joan said...

So very beautiful butterfleis pictures !

Rajesh said...

Beautiful butterflies.

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Photos from Paradise!
Your wonderful pictures are truly breathtaking. :)

susan said...

wonderful shots

eileeninmd said...

Hello, gorgeous images. The Monarch is a beauty! I love all the butterflies and the moth. The Common Blue is a pretty one! Great series of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Great collection today- I love the swallowtails..I think they are my very favorite butterfly.

DeniseinVA said...

Brilliant photos! Exquisite little butterflies and moths and pretty flowers. What a joy they all are. Thank you so much for sharing them :)

Magia da Inês said...

Série belíssima de fotos!!!
A última foto é incrível, com a captura do movimento das asas.

🌿✿゚╮Bom fim de semana!
✿⊰ه° ·.Beijinhos.🌾 ه° ·.

Tom said...

BREATHTAZKING butterfly images!!! I see so few of them this summer, it's worrisome.

Inspired By June said...

Wonderful captures! They sure do love the lantana, don't they? Have a wonder-filled week!

Stewart M said...

Wonderful shots - I want be along before we start seeing some in our garden. Then is time to dust off the macro lens.

Cheers - Stewart M - Darwin, NT

hmuxo said...

I love these monarch butterflies as well! They're so colorful and have such beautiful patterns. I agree with Tom....I haven't seen too many this year!!

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Lovely shots of the Monarchs, and all of the others, too.

I love those hummingbird moths!
~

krishna said...

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Will you please follow me back?

baili said...

Your camera is true lover of nature
Your photos have ability to take breath away dear
Just speechlessly looking at your amazing amaizig job

Phil Slade said...

I hadn't realised that you might get Monarchs in Portugal. I'm assuming that these are transatlantic vagrants? I have seen them in Fuerteventura where there is a resident population. Your pictures are stunning. Do you mind me asking what lens/camera you use for insects?

Breathtaking said...

Phil Slade

Yes, you're right,... originally a vagrant, probably from N. America, the Monarch butterfly is common in western algarve, although it has colonized in many other areas, and reproduces nearly all year.

I use the same cameras for all my photo's. The Nikon Coolpix 500, with a Nikon 36x optical Nikkor lens, or a Sony DSC-Hi with a 12x optical zoom lens, but I probably use my Sony camera the most when photographing insects.

Bethany Carson said...

Beautiful photos of the monarch! I also especially loved your shot of
"The Swallowtail papilio machaon (Papilionidae)." Awesome photos!

GreenComotion said...

Hi there-
These are some very beautiful butterflies.
I only know the Monarch species.
It is certainly nice to photograph these guys, though one might need to be quick to get a nice shot.
Well done!
And, thanks for visiting me.
Have a Happy Sunday!
Peace :)

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Great series of pictures. Well done. It's especially appealing to see the Monarch over there in Europe. The North American population will soon be engaged in that fantastic migration all the way to one valley in Mexico where they spend the winter. It's an amazing journey.

Liplatus said...

Very beautiful pictures of butterflies.
Greeting

Powell River Books said...

We have swallowtails and mourning cloaks, but I haven't seen any monarch in our area. Thanks for the visit this week. - Margy

Forest Dream Weaver said...

So much vibrant colour....beautiful photos!

Lois said...

All of your photos are absolutely gorgeous! So much pretty detail.

NatureFootstep said...

wow. so many gorgeous butterflies. So many I envy you!

Small Kucing said...

I have a love and hate relationship with them. Hate it when they are in the caterpillars form where they destroy my plants but love them when they help my plants to grow.

Belén Menéndez Solar said...

¡Una maravilla la Monarca!, tal vez los vientos la hayan apartado de su camino o proceda de algún criadero. Un saludo desde Asturias.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Those pictures are absolutely stunning! Beautiful butterflies and it is wonderful that they held still long enough for you to get these remarkable photos. I love every one of them and I'm especially glad that you have some monarchs back again.

Debbie said...

omgoodness, these are just gorgeous!!! the butterflies have not been visiting me!!!!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous butterfly captures!

Rita Vaselli said...

Dear Sonija,I put here my greeting for you. So lovely pictures of butterfly!!!
You are a outstanding nature photographer! Beatuful colors,composition lines, lightness and darkness so balanced...My eyes are charming for you beautiful
posts...I hope resume my sweet habits to visit and comment on blogger friends.
Have nice week in your beautiful Portugal! Warm hugs Rita

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