Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Butterfly Conservatory: Key West

Such a perfect thing to do, on a very cold day in Key West: Visit the Butterfly Conservatory. I really liked all of the informative/educational material this exhibit included.



In that way, it was a much better exhibit than the one in Como Park, MN.



But the Como Park butterfly exhibit had a much broader range of butterflies and species! This really surprises me; I guess it's that old phenomenon of thinking that things far away have to be superior.

This butterfly was quite challenging to photograph. I stalked it all over the exhibit, trying to capture it's much more brilliant, colorful, purple wings (on the inside.) But you can only see them when the butterfly is in flight. Once it lands, it shows only it's gray/woodsy brown wings, and it's "eye." The "eye" marking is part of it's attempt to temporarily throw off a predator, giving it seconds to possibly make an escape. The butterflies in Minnesota would do well to have this; maybe it would help them escape that Mall of America mouse infestation!



One other thing about the Minnesota exhibit; it was warmer than our Key West visit!


14 comments:

Nicki said...

Butterflies are so amazing in their design. And it is so true how we expect things to be so much more just because they are at a distant location. We took the kids to the butterfly farm at St. Martin...very pretty specimens.

Becky said...

I know you didn't get the color you wanted on that first one, but it's still amazing...the focus is so sharp!

Did you see my comment about UR on Goodreads? I liked it, didn't love it. I don't know that it will get released for other e-books because it's actually about a Kindle, but no great loss if you don't get to read it.

For Over 29 Years... said...

I really like that first shot. The lines are intriguing. Looks like a wonderful trip!

pat said...

Gosh, you would think the cooler weather would slow those butterflies down a little.... I really like the wing detail of the "woodsy brown" specimen; really intricate and interesting.

Suzy said...

Fantastic captures! Love all the detail in those butterflies!

shirley said...

Gorgeous - You are so right - the beautiful inner wings are so hard to catch. I recall the brown one with the "eye" on the outside had beautiful blue wings on the inside. Still, the outside markings are beautiful and SO sharp!

Meaghan said...

The first one is so pretty! Those butterflies are amazing, so sharp and interesting to look at.

Gypsy Girl(Brenda) said...

Ohhhh that last shot with the angle and color are so pretty. We just love sitting at the Butterfly Conservatory in Branson.

Nancy Devine said...

wow. amazing pictures.

Denita said...

I could get lost for hours/days in places that those! Love your shots.

Jeanne said...

Beautiful! Your photography is amazing!

We have a butterfly house nearby that we've visited often. But when we went to South Dakota and visited their smaller butterfly house, I was blown away by how much more active those butterflies were. Who'd have thunk? No matter where they live, butterflies are gorgeous!

Reds said...

Your butterfly shots are beautiful! Love walking around these exhibits!

Bobbi said...

These are just gorgeous. Butterflies are the only bug that I can stand closeups of...enjoy even!

Anonymous said...

The butterflies are amazing! The one with the "eye" is so detailed.