photoartflightFemale Monarch Butterfly
We went to the Davidsons Mill Park to look for dragonflies by the water. On Sundays the Butterfly House is open between 10 and 12 noon. So we decided to take a look. A lot of caterpillars munching their way through leaves and a few butterflies flying around. I usually like to photograph butterflies out in the fields but it was fun to take a look. Also outside the exhibit they have lots of plantings to attract butterflies. It was extremely hot and humid morning, so we only stayed for a few minutes and went back outside to see what we could find. To be able to get close to some of these small subjects, I used a 300mm lens with a 1.4x teleconverter on a Canon 1.3 crop body, so it was about 546mm. So the backgrounds get “softer” and not distracting in the overall image.
photoartflight 
Exquisite!
Thanks! I always liked photographing things that fly!
You’ve reminded me that decades ago there was an art gallery in New York called A Bird Can Fly But a Fly Can’t Bird.
Thanks! That’s Cool! I like it!
So happy to see monarchs in NJ – the northeast population has been hit badly, so hope arises every summer. Beautiful work!
Yes, I saw quite a few in PA last year. But in NJ I definitely see less now. At this county park, (which is also paired with Rutgers University)they have a Butterfly house, more like a hut, where they seem to breed them and then release them, so there are quite a few there in various stages of becoming butterflies that will be released.
Good to know. I’ve thought of doing the same, mail order chrysalis – but it is pricey and one would need to order thousands to have any impact. It might be worth doing as a group of gardeners, researchers, entomologists, etc. Plus it is unknown if migration is imprinted by nature or nurture… bringing them East from the Midwest might not make a difference if they are imprinted to return to that longitude.
Hi! Very True, but it Nice they try!