Swallowtails!

Great Mormon

Common Bluebottle

We had recently gone to this river for my mother-in-law's last rites. I noticed several butterflies mud-puddling on a sandy stretch. The first shot also has an Emigrant fluttering about in the foreground. 


The second picture shows the Great Mormon butterfly/Papilio memnon flying close to the ground. Although I have seen this magnificent butterfly many times, this is my first attempt at capturing it. Sadly, not a close shot. My book of butterflies says that the females of the species are seen near flowers and food plants whereas males are usually seen mud-puddling.


The last picture was taken in my backyard. I was cleaning this area and had poured a bucket of water. Just then this beautiful swallowtail landed to quench its thirst. It remained for a few minutes and gave me enough time to take some pictures!

The Common Bluebottle/Graphium sarpedon is said to prefer wetter, wooded regions. They are avid mud-puddlers and are seen in large groups in damp patches. Google has several such images.They are found in South and South-east Asia as well as Australia where they are also called the Blue Triangle butterflies.

Elusive Dragonflies

I'm calling these dragonflies elusive because looking at these pictures reminds me of the length of time that I had to wait under a searing sun. There were several red dragonflies and the vibrancy of the red stood out against the dying grass. as for the last photo, that's a Picture wing dragonfly that kindly deigned to stop for a moment.


All these pictures were taken about ten days ago at Deepor Beel,  the largest water body in our area.

Weekend Reflections/Wayside Pond

Reflections from a pond in the rural area of Dima Hasao, my home  district in Assam.


To see more Reflection photos, visit James at Weekend Reflections.

The Great Eggfly & Other Butterflies

I had lamented about not seeing butterflies in my garden in one of my posts. But soon after capturing the Great Eggfly butterfly on the pink penta, I have managed to get a few more shots of these butterflies (below).

One of the most commonly seen swallowtail butterflies, the Common Mormon rests on Star fruit plant.

A little skipper on a leaf. The other visitors are the Pansy butterflies but I've posted so many pictures earlier that I have to restrain myself from doing it again.;)

And sometimes I come across a tattered butterfly that's about to die. This is a Common Palmfly butterfly. It loves shady areas and ripe fruit. The picture below shows the Common Palmfly feeding on a ripe guava. These might not be the most colourful butterflies but I'm glad to see them fluttering about...in my garden!

Weekend Reflections/Leopard Lilies

Today's picture is a small bunch of leopard lilies with the reflection of the window grill on our living room floor.


To see other participants' posts head over to Weekend Reflections.

Nature Walk

                                                                     

Yesterday we spent an afternoon on the banks of Deepor Beel, the largest water body in our vicinity. It is home to several varieties of aquatic life, local and migratory birds, reptiles and insects.

Guess who was the first to greet me? Not something that I expected as soon as I reached the place! A snake got out of its hole, looked around and disappeared. I just managed this shot and I made sure I wouldn't go near its den even if the prettiest butterflies led me there!

The Grey Pansy butterfly in its natural habitat. So far I have shot this one only in my garden so it was a delight to be able to photograph it in the wild.

To swim or not to swim seems to be the question for these pretty ducks.

Another Grey Pansy on a dry leaf. And now for some colour!

A damselfly, the Coromandel marsh dart on a lantana leaf. There were several damselflies but I couldn't get a good shot of the more colourful ones.

The lantana blooms attract several butterflies. These skippers look pretty happy!

There were clouds of dragonflies flying in the air. If you click on the picture below, you'll see several of these beautiful black and gold dragonflies known as Picture Wings. Below is a picture I had taken of this kind of dragonfly a few years ago  .

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

I hope you liked joining me on my walk today!

Weekend Reflections/ A Bunch Of Blooms

Today's image is a bunch of blooms from my backyard. It's a variety of clerodendrum/ C. colebrookianum which grows wild in our region. A tiny vase holds the showy blooms on my bathroom shelf. The mirror completes this meme's look.:)


My thanks to James for hosting Weekend Reflections.

Weekend Reflections/Rose Of Sharon

Welcome to Weekend Reflections! As I opened the window this morning, the Rose of Sharon showed up on the pane. I had to look again as the reflection nearly fooled me!


To see more, head over to http://weekendreflection.blogspot.com/


My thanks to James for hosting this wonderful meme.