Prototypical "bioephemera" - butterflies and flowers - as seen last Saturday at the wonderful Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown. I think it's a palamedes swallowtail (Papilio palamedes), which is common to DC/Virginia; but I'm not sure. (Unfortunately I only brought my iPhone, not my real camera!)
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Actually, I like the iPhone for this. The odd aura effect adds to the ephemeral nature of the photo. It looks as though the whole thing was dissolving as you looked at it.
sometimes it's hard to believe that butterflies are actuall quite large when they are around flowers. but, when they fly in the air, they seemed so small.
or perhaps, just different species i guess.
here's a butterfly shot :)
(http://www.virb.com/1943357024544516/videos/52793)
Great shot, BioE!
Ha! Why do you animal-centrists ignore the plants??? ;-) The wonderful Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) and nice Lantana (Lantana sp.) give the butterfly some context...
You took this with your iphone? Amazing.
Linda, you're quite right. Will you forgive me if I swear I had trailing lantana in my garden at my old house? I highly recommend a visit to D.O. to any gardeners out there, btw. . .