Since I have been so lucky in finding people to go with this past week, I thought that I would do a post on the wildflowers, and the butterflies I was able to photograph. Those last few words are important, because it’s immediately obvious why the word “butterfly” came from the word “flutterby”. These are SUCH restless creatures, flitting here and there (in the novels of P G Wodehouse , all faithless people are referred to as butterflies because they “flit from flower to flower”)…but sometimes one can sneak up on these beauties as they rest lightly on leaves, flowers, the ground or anywhere else….

But…but…butterflies are Orribler Creatures than birds. When I started birding I never realized that there might be something MORE confusing than bird ids. But butterflies are. They have their wings-open appearance, they have their wings-closed appearance, their larvae, their pupae and then just to kill me off, there are butterflies that mimic other butterflies….

But to me, the butterfly life cycle is one of the most wonderful, mysterious things on earth. An egg becomes a caterpillar that becomes a pupa that becomes a butterfly….a complete re-incarnation, all in one life…so many different forms of one life….it’s difficult to comprehend the complexity of it all. Now, when I find a caterpillar in my vegetables, my reaction is not “Yeughhhh” but to reach for my MLC and switch to macro mode! :D

So..

The CERULEAN:

The COMMON TIGER The COMMON GULL (these butterfly names are going to KILL me. Where on earth does this look like a gull, I ask you?) The RED PIERROT (now this name makes some sense because it looks like the Pierrot of the old Pierrot/Columbine puppets) The flowers are as usual nameless, but they are so lovely, I must post them: COLVILLE'S GLORY is actually a flowering tree in Lalbagh, in full bloom just now: this star-shaped flower was tiny but exquisite: Just the leaves alone ,with the sunlight shining through them, were so lovely:

And just to wind up, a beautiful, shimmering TORTOISESHELL BEETLE:

Tomorrow will be raptors and the yellow-throated bulbuls, for which my birding friends are waiting….! Today a migraine because of a very rare upset stomach wasted almost the entire day….I left my digestive system severely alone and now I am getting enquiries from my tummy about whether there will be any inputs at all, so I am off to eat dinner now! :)