h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is so, no argument; the silver studded blues are the bees-knees of the butterfly world. They have gorgeous, knock-out, dead cute looks. They're sociable, home-loving little bodies. They live in a harmonious, mutually beneficial relationship with another species (homo sapiens could learn a thing or two from them). They're beautifully photographically cooperative. And they'll sit on your finger like a budgerigar if you're nice.

They are to be seen by the dozen, if not the hundred. They never speed by, land thirty yards away and speed off again, and again, and again, thumbing their noses just as you get almost close enough to see them properly.

Some Welsh ones -> http://public.fotki.com/h2g2Waz/for-sharing-with-friends/silver-studded-blue/ When the heath on Prees Heath's fully restored, there'll be that shimmering blue haze that I've read of there again. Counted 200 there on Monday, without including the best bits.

My very dear LLWaz,

No wonder I hear from you so seldom. YOu have so many fantastic activities. !!.

The blue butterflies are quite beautiful and they are to be found in Wales.

Well I always knew the Welsh were wonderful people.
I do not mind as long as I hear from you occasionally !!

With a great deal of admiration and affection

Christiane
AR80
Oh,

Waz, I just sent you an e-mail of transparent butterflies. I would have posted a link here, but I got it from a girlfriend and don't have an actual link.

Aren't butterflies amazing? We're on the migration path for the Monarchs. It just takes your breath away to see so many at once.

LLWaz,

Those are the most stunningly beautiful photos. Some of the best I have ever seen. Mde my day, thank you,

Websailor

Hello Waz and the rest of you folks! Waz the photos are beautiful! I also like that glossy beetle joining in on a couple of the photos. You are managing this close-up photography stuff very well! I am still struggling with that. I guess it helps that those butterflies of yours are so tame and relaxed!

I would like to tell you some good news - I now have broadband internet and I can now easily and rapidly view all your fotki photos! I'll send you some more comments soon.

At any rate I hope for the ongoing improvement of Prees Heath and its inhabitants!

Hypatia,

I am so green with that you are on the flight path of the migrating Monarchs. I have a friend in Canada who breeds them for release. It must be a really spectacular sight.

Websailor

When the Monarchs migrate, it is nothing short of spectacular. Our pine tree looked like it had thousands of orange blossoms on it last fall. When they flew, the sky was almost black! Too bad they are here for such a short time.

We have monarchs in our garden all summer, but not the numbers we see in the fall when they are migrating.

Black eyed Susans, coneflowers, and gaillardia attract all kinds of butterflies.. I need to go outside with the camera!!

Hello, Lady Chattingly, I don't think we have spoken before. Thank you for that. I have followed their progress in the past on the Web, but not lately.

Some photos would be lovely

I think we all have special things in our gardens, but so often, over here at least, people don't seem to see what is under their noses



Websailor

Like this rather common moth http://public.fotki.com/h2g2Waz/for-sharing-with-friends/moths/whiteermine6.html? A very handsome, imo, and shy white ermine. What I love about the close up photoes is you see much more than you can with the naked eye.

Hyp, email received, and answered, many thanks for those - they're beautiful.

Willem, glad you've got broadband now! Prees Heath's coming on - there are new heather seedlings appearing on areas that had been lost to agriculture, which is really good news.

about the Monarchs.

And dear Waz -
And what about me?

Just because I have no butterflies .. and in any case I always thought that butterflies were part of the development stage of the final cutworm which gobbled up all my seedlings and now I find that

monarch butterflies

live for years and years,
fly like a Concord, and are
everywhere

except my balcony area.
!


Walks away, with head hung low, and very , very miserable. (not really!!)

I shall now go and look up butterflies in wikipedia and Monarch butterflies in particular.

And of course my dear Waz's beautiful blue butterflies which started off this conversation. !!Thank goodness for Wikipedia oh dear - and of course Waz!!

CME AR80

Christiane , you are as bad as my brother . I told him to go see the butterflies on the heath and he just started muttering about his cabbages!

It wasn't even butterflies that ate his cabbages this year, it was pigeons.

I wondered what had happened to you.

You got lost amongst all the other conversations.

Well, aren't butterflies the beautiful things which turn into cutworms and gobble up all our seedlings?

That is why you did not answer me. They simply MUST be.

Strides away, laughing to herself.
Tee Hee.
sorry
wheels herself away laughing all the while
AR80

Was,

That is the most beautiful White ermine. I haven't seen one since I was a child cathcing butterflies and moths. Thank you.

Christiane, you are a bad girl

Websailor

I want to second that - lovely moth photo! Moths are underappreciated. More moth photos please

Hello Web Sailor,
For background purposes, I am Hypatia's older sister. I hang around and post occasionally. I live in the middle of the US of A--literally. We have lots of butterflies and moths in our area.
My neighbor and his little girls caught a Luna Moth the other night. I haven't seen it yet. I really wish people would just let them be.
I am not as familiar with butterfly species as I am with birds, but can identify the more common ones here.

There is a butterfly that lays eggs on cabbages, but the caterpillars are quite easy to spot and easier to pick off and drop in a bowl of water--to be disposed of at a later time. Of course if you have rows and rows of cabbage, that type of disposal could be quite daunting...

Not a bad girl

Caterpillars do eat things



wheels herself gingerly away to soothe her ruffled feelings ....

Finds a lovely bar of ... Ummmmm

AR80

The monarchs will lay eggs on just one variety of milkweed, I believe. Should have looked it up before I posted. Anyway, I remember being encouraged to plant this particular milkweed in order to attract the butterflies.

I certainly don't want moths in the library. Or crickets. I know lots of folks love crickets, but they are rough on books.

Hello, Lady Chattingly,

Yes, I knew you were Hypatia's sister - I peeked at your Ps

I dare say the birds would have liked the caterpillars, ours certainly do. Oh, and they will *kill* for mealworms.

I only caught butterflies as a child. In those days it was considered a suitable hobby for children!! It taught me they were fascinating and had a right to live, and I stopped doing it, but not before I had formed a love of nature which has stayed with me all my life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello, Hypatia, I knew quite a bit about Monarchs but seeing them for real must be lovely. I don't like house moths because they eat everything but I didn't know crickets damaged books! You live and learn, especially here on Hoo Too.



Websailor

This blue butterfly's caterpillars eat heather and bird's foot trefoil on Prees Heath, but eat wild rock roses in North Wales. Cabbages and other seedlings are safe! Can't say as much for the White Ermine, it says "a very wide variety of wild and garden plants including bindweed" At least eating bindweed's good for gardeners and it doesn't mention library books as being on the menu.

Had a green carpet moth on the window sill last month - having green carpets, I wondered. But apparently it's main food plant is bedstraw.

I want more moth photos too, they are very overlooked. The thing to do is hang a few old socks that've been dipped in treacle and red wine about the place and see what shows up. Has to be the right consistency though, or the moths get stuck. And cheap red wine has proved ineffective. As you'd expect. I mean one look at that White Ermine and you can see he'd only go for the best vintages.

Just taken a photo of bindweed which is thriving in my garden in spite of all my efforts. I wonder where I can find some White Ermines .....

I agree they do look very aristocratic. I would love to se an Elephant Hawk Moth again. i caught one when I was a youngster, and it is stunningly beautiful. Old socks!!

Websailor