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

Shan’t be home before midnight so today’s journal comes from September. The best day in September. Macaw lick day.

After a deeply satisfying 60+ Macaw spectacle and a pancake breakfast, going back up river, the butterflies were really out in force. Yellow and black Longwings flying across the river, bright orange Julias meandering down it, an Amazon Beauty investigating the canoe, landing to probe for minerals, clouds of yellows and whites along the banks, and dark butterflies with flashes of violet streaming by the hundred, fairly purposefully, up river about 18 inches above the gravel beds. Fantastic.

And then the end-of-the-rainbow pot of gold. On a gravel bed were two yellow-green and gold pools of butterflies on the ground; so densely packed that all that could be seen of many of them were the top edges of wings.

The canoe was edged up to the gravel so everyone could get out. At six feet away the butterflies took off. It was like a being in snowstorm of sulphur, white and orange wings. There must have been three hundred of them at least. When they settled again they covered two areas little more than a foot across. They were mostly orange-barred and apricot sulphurs, trite, and kite-swallowtails.

I never thought I’d see something like this except in pictures. It’s a memory that warms like a hot cup of ovaltine. And then there was another puddle of butterflies on the doorstep – on the bank where the canoe was moored – back at the lodge. A small pool of maybe 50 trite, kite-swallowtails and daggerwings.

That was a Good Day.

Indeed it was a Good Day Waz. One such as I could only dream about! I know exactly what you're describing here of course. Where the macaws go to lick some clays that help detox them after they eat some mildly poisonous fruits. And there are lots of butterflies that go to drink there also, I've seen them too, but only on the TV! Congrats on having seen that!

I didn't know they were detoxing, I thought it was just the general shortage of minerals in the rain forest!

We spent two hours just after sun down, lying flat in a hide at a tapir lick. The tapir didn't turn up. He may have been put off by the snores. It had been a long day, they provided mattresses, it was dark, what did they expect . The fireflies put on a fantastic show though.

You'll know about walking trees, I didn't - and there they were. It was quite disturbing, everything I know tells me trees are rooted to the spot.

yet again, mesmerised by your way with words Waz

Well, pools of butterflies don't happen like that here and 2012 was a bad year for most UK butterflies. There were some good butterfly days all the same. The best of which was the purple hairstreak day on the heath.

Either purple hairstreaks had a good year on the heath, unlike the other butterflies, or the timing was just right. There's a place with one small, bushy oak next to a young oak whose branches drape down to ground level. On a sunny morning, on the sunny sheltered side, I stood shoulder-deep in rosebay willowherb with half a dozen purple hairstreaks tip-toeing around the new leaves and young acorn buds at the end of a twig six inches from my nose. There were another half dozen nearby. They crept in and out between leaves, dragged their yellow tongues over the tops of them and flicked their wings at each other. When one flew off or in, there were flashes of purple from their topwings. Their underwings were glistening pale brown with bright creamy white, orange and black markings. And of course they had the little black and white tails that mark them as hairstreaks.

It was nearly purple hairstreak-satisfying but not quite. Catching one newly emerged on a grass stalk, with it's purple wings wide open to warm up before a first flight into the oak is still to come.

Looking at the dozens of photos afterwards, it's clear they have scales on their eyes. I've never seen that before. Looking at some hairstreaks it can take a second look to be sure which end is the head (and body) end. The little tails look like antennae and legs, particularly when the butterfly twitches or moves its wings up and down. Any predator getting it wrong gets a mouthfull of wing scales. Maybe the scales on the eyes are part of that deception.

Whatever, they're gorgeous and its astonishing that very similarly marked species exist in the Amazon rainforest as in an English oak tree. I love that connection.

In an English oak-> http://public.fotki.com/h2g2Waz/for-sharing-with-friends/moths-and-butterflies/butterflies/purple-hairstreak.html

In the Amazon jungle -> http://public.fotki.com/h2g2Waz/for-sharing-with-friends/moths-and-butterflies/butterflies-from-th/20-9-11-16-27-hairs.html

Hairstreak cousins.

What awesome photos. Thank you so much for sharing

I am blessed with the butterflies which visit my own garden but I did plant butterfly-friendly plants when I moved here. They seem to know and I get the same types year after year. They particularly love my orange-ball buddleia. I have Commas, Red Admirals, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells, a Holly Blue, a Small Copper, and lots of white butterflies. A rarity this year was the Painted Lady, I didn't manage to photograph any I have a whole album on Facebook dedicated to my garden visitors. It makes me smile on tough days Here's an old album at Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/109163337517290185142/Butterflies#
Your camera is excellent for taking close-ups. When I have the money I will upgrade my ordinary one and try to attain your excellence.

GB

Galaxy Babe, your butterfly photos are beautiful too! Waz, we have similar ones here in South Africa also. I have many different kinds coming to my garden here but it's very difficult to photograph them.