I will start off with one or two pictures from three years ago....I volunteered at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden's exhibit. It is here again this year and I will once again be able to photograph the beauties.

If you have any to show, please do.

This is a Blue Morpho basking, they don't keep their wings open very long....I was lucky.

This is what the Blue Morpho look like when the wings are closed. The more muted coloring is their protection.

The little guy nearby is a Pink Cattle Heart Swallowtail.

This is three (3) butterflies. The mating pair of Blue Morphos were joined by a persistant male who wanted to join in. He stayed there for thirty or 45 minutes until someone disturbed them.

Sheila_FW said:I will start off with one or two pictures from three years ago....I volunteered at the Fort Worth Botanical Garden's exhibit. It is here again this year and I will once again be able to photograph the beauties.

If you have any to show, please do.

This is a Blue Morpho basking, they don't keep their wings open very long....I was lucky.

I've lost track of how many times I've attempted to get a shot like that -- finally did, I think. Will have to dig around my hard drive when I get back to my house.

That's an amazing butterfly. I imagine having their wings open just attracts too much attention ... you just don't see that color very often in nature.

Yes, they do attract attention! The kids at the exhibit chase after them with their arms streched out wanting them to land on them! LOL!
This was one of the workers that picked one up off of the walkway.

The Zebra Longwings roosting for the night.

This is one of the Charaxas butterflies

Lovely

I can't wait for cooler temps... I'll sneak down to Callaway and spend some time in their butterfly house.... but not when it's the same temp/humidity indoors as outdoors.

Sheila -- YOU can probably tell me what was going on in this picture...


I would swear the butterfly went IN the bird's mouth on occasion. The bird just kept his mouth open -- it almost seemed ilke the buttefly was getting something from the bird's tongue?

LOL! I have no clue what is going on! The butterfly may be a bushfoot family species and attracted to fruit that the bird ate?? Only a guess. Was it in the butterfly exhibit??

Really great shots, Shelia.

Sheila_FW said:LOL! I have no clue what is going on! The butterfly may be a bushfoot family species and attracted to fruit that the bird ate?? Only a guess. Was it in the butterfly exhibit??

Yeah, it was. That was back in Sept 2002. I don't know how long I stood there watching these 2 and trying to get a photo.

Was that at the Callaways Garden exhibit? It wasn't there when I got to go a couple years ago, it may have ate a few and got fired! LOL!

Sheila_FW said:Was that at the Callaways Garden exhibit? It wasn't there when I got to go a couple years ago, it may have ate a few and got fired! LOL!

Yeah... they don't have the birds out all the time, but the most recent time I was there (spring 2010?), the bird was still there.

It could be getting something from the liquid in the birds mouth.

Houston Museum of Natural History's 3 story Butterfly House (inside vista).
7-24-11

Nice photos! I know what all except the last one is.

The exhibit here opens again this next March 2012, and I can't wait to get to volunteer at it.

Great pics as always, J!