Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art

Garden Guests Diary - Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly [1 December 08]

I spotted this butterfly in the garden when I was feeding the comets early this morning and I sprinted into the house to grab my camera. I ended up chasing this butterfly all over my garden before she finally rested on a leaf. (I’m sure my neighbours must think that I am a bit of a freak!) In my photography experience, to date, it is so rare for a butterfly to land, let alone sit for any reasonable length of time to actually take a decent photograph. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and while this magnificent creature was resting, I managed to take quite a few shots of her… very rewarding.

Orchard Swallowtail [Papilio aegeus] butterfly - female