I visited, I saw, I captured. Truly! It was a prized colorful capture.
Never will the ‘Flying Flowers’ go unnoticed when you are in a garden or close to any vegetation. As kids every one of us has dreamed of having butterfly wings fluttering away hopping from flower to flower. We have created a dreamland of fairies with butterfly wings.
Born and brought up in the countryside I had good opportunity to watch and play with many kinds of butterflies. Many times these winged guests- small, big, red, blue, black, yellow, striped, double eyed, with spectacular geometrical patterns- used to adore our windows, doors and interiors. As a young girl I treasured butterflies that provided space for my imagination and field for my dreams. I always wondered how the patterns and designs on both the wings were symmetrical! Wonder turned to a craze, I even silently went close to find the similarities and differences! I still remember, when I was in middle school I used to spend most of my evenings roaming around the jasmine creepers and other plants searching for butterflies and running behind them and the immediate thought that I had to give a class test on the next day used to get ‘butterflies in my stomach’! My little brother was more interested in lady birds and was more fascinated by the way lady bird opened and closed her wings.
Most of his evenings were spent in catching them.
We visited Iruppu Water Falls in Coorg recently. While walking through the forest enjoying the loud echoing sound of Cicadas, to our pleasant surprise we discovered a group of butterflies foraging on a rock close to the falls. The butterflies appeared undisturbed by the movement of the people. I braved mosquitoes and dared the slippery uneven rocky surface to take the photograph. I had to do all kinds of circus- kneeled down, squatted, placed camera to ground level- and clicked. The bright blue band on the wings was glittering in the sunshine. The symmetrical sitting of the butterflies one behind the other was feast to the eyes. Initially I thought it is Malabar Banded Peacock (Papilio Buddha) which is endemic to Western Ghats. But later came to know from my friend Ravi Hegde that it is Graphium sarpedon Linnaeus, 1758.
Graphium sarpedon Linnaeus, 1758 is seen in India and Sri Lanka is a swift-flying butterfly, with a bright blue band visible even in flight. The common bluebottle or blue triangle butterfly is found in Asia and Australia. Their habitat includes moist rain forests, and cinnamon tree plantations. They are known to aggregate together while feeding. They feed on flower nectar, animal droppings, dead insects, carcasses etc. They are very active butterflies which take quick flight. The common English name of this species is probably derived from Sarpedon, the king of Lycia in Ancient Greek mythology.
I admire butterflies for the sheer beauty of their colorful wings which have been used not only for flight but as a canvas for the most striking patterns. I get inspired by the entire metamorphosis process of how an unpromising pupa emerges with fully formed colorful wings, pumps all its energy into its wings in order to get them working and flapping, then get ready for the first flight of life. Everything that we are taking in is fuel and nourishment for our growth. I remember a joke, “the caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” It is so true! We hardly think of the struggles one goes through in life, but admire only the success.
Love is like a Butterfly; it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
Never will the ‘Flying Flowers’ go unnoticed when you are in a garden or close to any vegetation. As kids every one of us has dreamed of having butterfly wings fluttering away hopping from flower to flower. We have created a dreamland of fairies with butterfly wings.
Most of his evenings were spent in catching them.
We visited Iruppu Water Falls in Coorg recently. While walking through the forest enjoying the loud echoing sound of Cicadas, to our pleasant surprise we discovered a group of butterflies foraging on a rock close to the falls. The butterflies appeared undisturbed by the movement of the people. I braved mosquitoes and dared the slippery uneven rocky surface to take the photograph. I had to do all kinds of circus- kneeled down, squatted, placed camera to ground level- and clicked. The bright blue band on the wings was glittering in the sunshine. The symmetrical sitting of the butterflies one behind the other was feast to the eyes. Initially I thought it is Malabar Banded Peacock (Papilio Buddha) which is endemic to Western Ghats. But later came to know from my friend Ravi Hegde that it is Graphium sarpedon Linnaeus, 1758.
Graphium sarpedon Linnaeus, 1758 is seen in India and Sri Lanka is a swift-flying butterfly, with a bright blue band visible even in flight. The common bluebottle or blue triangle butterfly is found in Asia and Australia. Their habitat includes moist rain forests, and cinnamon tree plantations. They are known to aggregate together while feeding. They feed on flower nectar, animal droppings, dead insects, carcasses etc. They are very active butterflies which take quick flight. The common English name of this species is probably derived from Sarpedon, the king of Lycia in Ancient Greek mythology.
I admire butterflies for the sheer beauty of their colorful wings which have been used not only for flight but as a canvas for the most striking patterns. I get inspired by the entire metamorphosis process of how an unpromising pupa emerges with fully formed colorful wings, pumps all its energy into its wings in order to get them working and flapping, then get ready for the first flight of life. Everything that we are taking in is fuel and nourishment for our growth. I remember a joke, “the caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” It is so true! We hardly think of the struggles one goes through in life, but admire only the success.
Love is like a Butterfly; it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
