I went to visit my "butterfly park" the other day, and was happy to find a lot of peacock butterflies fluttering about. When I googled to find out what one might call a bunch of butterflies in English, I came upon the expression "a kaleidoscope of butterflies". I don't think I've heard that before, but I love it. Seems like just the right name in this case, as it was sometimes really hard to distinguish the butterflies from the purple coneflowers!
Butterflies are probably the most photogenic of insects because we all love them. I also love Heleniums and am hoping to grow a lot next year.
ReplyDeleteGraham, butterflies are beautiful, and don't sting or bite... Definitely my favourite! :)
Deletei have never seen a peacock butterfly and would love to see a kaleidoscope of these gorgeous creatures. they blend so well with the flowers, perfect cammo for them
ReplyDeleteSandra, I don't think you have these peacock butterflies (Aglais Io) in America - according to Wikipedia they belong in Europe and Asia.
DeleteYour photos are great, and, wow, that butterfly ... amazing. I had to do a Google to find out more about the Peacock Butterfly. My initial reading indicates it is only in Europe and temperate Asia. I am sure I've not seen one before. Nature's art is so fascinating. I wonder what city you are in, in Sweden? Thanks for your replies to my comments in previous post.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I live in Borås, a city of around 110.000 inhabitants in the province Västergötland in south-west Sweden; an hour or so inland from Göteborg/Gothenburg on the west coast.
DeleteWow! It seems like a long time since you have posted butterflies, but this post sure makes up for it. The colors arestunning. And the combination of the flower color and the butterfly pattern and color is truly mind blowing!! You should visit here more often! I have never heard the Kaleidoscope name, either.
ReplyDeleteGinny, while I do visit this park every now and then, it's only this time of year (late summer) that is "butterfly time". We see a few of them in early spring - either having hibernated locally or coming from further south. I'm not sure what flowers they feed on then. But they do what they're supposed to do (lay eggs) and then it takes a couple of months or so before the next generation appears... The weather no doubt plays a part as well. Wiki tells me the peacock ones like warm weather in the early stages of development, and the warm summer we had this year seems to have been a good one for them :)
DeleteA kaleidoscope of butterflies - that really fits!
ReplyDeleteI believe the purple cornflowers are echinacea (Sonnenhut - sun hat - in German), but no matter what they are called, they obviously are a butterfly magnet.
Meike, we have a saying in Sweden that "a beloved child has many names"; which can apply to flowers as well. The German and Swedish languages are also closely related and here we call it "röd solhatt" = "red sunhat" :) And yes, the butterflies certainly do love them!
Delete