budcline

Butterfly XII

2008-05-11T00:00:00Z

This is another longwing species of butterfly. It is nectaring on Verbena blossoms. This image was captured at the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.

Butterflies XI

2008-05-10T05:01:11Z

I found this pair of Julia Longwings discretely mating on the glass of a display case in the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. We are finding eggs on the Passion Flower plant in the Exhibit that may be those of the Julias. This species lives longer than many butterflies because they eat pollen as well as sipping on the nectar of plants in the Exhibit.

Butterfly X

2008-05-09T01:39:52Z

Our Monarch butterflies have emerged at the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit at Brookside Gardens. They have been mating and are laying eggs on the milkweed already. This one is nectaring on a zinnia blossom.

Butterfly IX

2008-05-08T05:01:12Z

This is a Question Mark butterfly so named because of the marking on its hind wing. There is a similar looking butterfly called a Comma that has this marking minus the dot. This specimen is seen feeding on some ripe watermelon. Its proboscis is easily spotted in this image.

Butterfly VIII

2008-05-07T05:01:17Z

This is a Costa Rican longwing butterfly whose identify has not been confirmed by us but closely resembles a Doris longwing. Our supplier tells us he is getting butterflies from different locations than in the past and is seeing quite a bit of variation in patterns. This is one such variation. The blossoms are Verbena as seen in some of the previous butterfly images.

Butterflies VII

2008-05-06T04:21:59Z

Our butterflies are mating and laying eggs in the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit in Brookside Gardens. This is a pair of Isabella Tiger butterflies mating. The blossoms are Verbena (Verbena bonariensis – Purpletop Vervain, Clustertop Vervain, Tall Verbena, South American Vervain, Pretty Verbena, 'purpletop'). I placed a sheet of green paper behind them for this background.

Butterfly VI

2008-05-05T05:01:16Z

Another view of the Morpho butterfly.

Butterfly V

2008-05-04T05:01:08Z

This is a Small Postman butterfly. It is nectaring on the blossoms which are Verbena (Verbena bonariensis – Purpletop Vervain, Clustertop Vervain, Tall Verbena, South American Vervain, Pretty Verbena, 'purpletop'.)

Butterfly IV

2008-05-03T05:42:34Z

This is a Leopard Lacewing butterfly nectaring on flower specifically planted for this purpose in the Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit at Wheaton, MD. The exhibit opens today and runs through September 21st - don't miss this if you live in the area! The blossoms are Verbena (Verbena bonariensis – Purpletop Vervain, Clustertop Vervain, Tall Verbena, South American Vervain, Pretty Verbena, 'purpletop'.)

Butterflies III

2008-05-01T22:28:37Z

I found these two butterflies enjoying the fruit at the upcoming Wings of Fancy Butterfly Exhibit that opens this weekend at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton. MD. In the foreground is a Blue Clipper and in the background is a Morpho. Some of the butterflies on display feed on fruit while others feed on nectar from the plants in the flight house. These two species are from the tropics and feed on fruit in the wild.