Tropical Butterflies

Visiting a Butterfly Pavilion in the middle of a Colorado winter is a convenient reprieve from snowy landscapes and freezing temperatures. The pavilion's conservatory of lush tropical plants provide habitat for a spectacular array of butterflies with each visit being unique as the short lives of the butterflies mean the winged residents must be continually replaced by the metamorphosis of new insects. One particular visit I made to the Butterfly Pavilion yielded several Blue Morpho butterflies. The Blue Morpho is a large butterfly with stunning, iridescent blue wings rimmed in black. The underside of the wing is dull brown with eyespots, easy to pass up until this butterfly takes flight then displaying a contrast between brown and blue that makes the butterfly seem to appear and disappear between rapid flashes of vivid blue.

More of my butterfly images can be viewed on Flickr.