Monday, 11 October 2010

Butterflies and Moths (12): Swallowtail

A Swallowtail at ancient Messine, near Kalamata, Greece
I grew up in East Anglia, where the occasional Swallowtail could be seen on the Norfolk Broads. I spent five years, working in Cambridge, during which time we often visited the nature reserve at Wicken Fen, where these butterflies were spotted on rare occasions. Needless to say, I don't ever recall seeing one.

I noticed a lot of Swallowtails of one kind or another on blogs from the USA and Canada (and here) earlier this year, and began to feel that I was missing out!

However, my (lack of) patience was rewarded in Greece, this last September, when I was privileged to watch and photograph a number of these beautiful creatures. The Ancient Greek word for 'butterfly' is apparently ψυχή (psȳchē), or 'soul'.
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4 comments:

  1. Andrea12 October 2010 at 06:15

    Hello Caroline, i just followed your comment from Rosie's. How serendipitous, i have been studying butterflies also for a while till i got impatient. I love this swallowtail, which doesn't seem to be present here in the tropics (Philippines). But i also occassionally post butterflies common here, as in that post previous to the present. I am sure you will like them too. Apparently though, the swallowtails here don't alight steadily, that my photos are all fluttering. hehe. Glad to be here in your blogsite.

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  2. Rosie Nixon Fluerty12 October 2010 at 16:11

    Caroline I would love to see one of these big butterflies flying in the air - it must be an amazing sight. I'm sure you were overjoyed to get a great photo like this while on holiday last month.

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  3. Anonymous16 October 2010 at 05:55

    This is a beautiful swallowtail. Here, the ones with the gorgeous patterns are very difficult to photograph because they are never still. I still keep hoping:)
    I like bug photos too in your other post.

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  4. Mary29 October 2010 at 16:59

    This is pretty! You've really been seeing a lot of great stuff lately. I'm sorry I've been so behind on visiting. Will try to catch up.

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