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Tuesday 21 April 2015

A - Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies - 'R'

R - Red Admiral, Ringlet

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) appears in Europe, Asia and North America. It shares our Buddleia bush with Peacocks, Tortoiseshells and White butterflies. 

My photos of it in Yorkshire are all on the golden yellow rose we planted for our 50th wedding anniversary some years ago.




Red Admiral
The one I photographed in Michigan in 2010 had to make do with the tyre on a tractor.

Red Admiral
There is no mistaking its striking dark brown, red and black wing pattern with orange bands crossing the forewings and on the outer edge of the hind wings.

Vladimir Nabokov, also an amateur lepidopterist, featured the Red Admiral in his novel Pale Face - I shall have to read it sometime.

The Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) is a brown butterfly found all over Europe. This female was photographed at a site of special scientific interest  (SSSI) - Hurcott Wood, in Worcestershire.

Ringlet Butterfly
I must confess that the few I've seen on brambles have been a darker brown than this.

Female Ringlet Butterfly
On the underside there is no mistaking the black eyespots rimmed with yellow. You are much more likely to see it like this as it rarely exposes its brown upperside.

Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside
Your touch is soft and gentle
Your kiss is warm and tender
Whenever I am with you I think of butterflies

Love is like a butterfly
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

Your laughter brings me sunshine

Photo Attributions:
  • Female Ringlet at Hurcott Wood: 17 July 2008, geograph.org.uk by Max Fascione - CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Female Ringlet: Sandy Bedfordshire, uploaded by innotata, by Ogangeaurochs - CC BY 2.0

7 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob .. I hate to say it but I think those are yellow dahlias?! Funny!! The Red Admiral is so beautifully coloured .. I love seeing them .. but the Ringlet I don't think I know about .. so that was interesting to see and read about .. we've had lots of sunny days down here and the wildlife is bounding around ..

Cheers Hilary

Bob Scotney said...

Hilary - I took four shots in 2010 over a three minute period; the first quite clearly is a rosebud with a yellow rose in flower behind it. However you may be right about right about the butterfly/dahlia as we had dahlias in the same bed at the same time.
This is what happens if you don't label shots completely or if you have senior moments as you are five years older!

Billy Blue Eyes said...

O yes see lots of them around, lovely color to them

Jo said...

Gettin' old along with the rest of us eh Bob? Red Admiral is a pretty butterfly. Never heard of the other, Ringlet. Didn't know there was such a variety of butterflies until you started this blogt.

Cathrina Constantine said...

I thought the same as Hilary. What lovely pictures and flowers and butterflies, I love them all!!!

Kristin said...

There seems to be a lot of orange in butterfly coloring. Pity the one making due with the tire. Hope s/he was just resting in between flowers or getting a drink of water from a tire tread.

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I never manage to get a decent shot of a butterfly, no matter what flower it happens to be on at the time.