Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: top20#20

Well, up close with an Owl butterfly : ) These are large, rather fancy butterflies, and I liked its striped eyes - but not so much its furry body. Taken on 6 October 2012 in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo. The tropical butterfly season is almost over now. Once again, the staff and volunteers did a superb job of putting on a great display of tropical plants and butterflies again for us over the summer! I know that I, for one, appreciate this so much - a wonderful chance to see and photograph things I would otherwise never see. "Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called owl butterflies, after their huge eyespots, which resemble owls' eyes. Owl butterflies are found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico, Central, and South America. Owl butterflies are very large, 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 in), and fly only a few metres at a time, so avian predators have little difficulty in following them to their settling place. However, the butterflies preferentially fly in dusk, when few avian predators are around. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owl_butterfly

When I was at the Calgary Zoo on 6 October 2012, one of the workers in the butterfly room was wearing this cast (?), on which this beautiful butterfly rested. The young man said that the insect was not doing very well and he was trying to move it to a bowl of fruit. However, the butterfly really didn't want to leave this new kind of perch that it had found : ) Eventually, there was success - so I do hope it sucked up some new energy and survived. I couldn't miss an opportunity for a different kind of shot, of course. I think they say that having a butterfly land on you is good luck, so hopefully this man's arm will heal extra fast. Not sure, but I think this butterfly is a Scarlet Swallowtail / Papilio rumanzovia. Thanks, Art (Leapfrog!) for the ID confirmation - much appreciated, as always!

Photographed in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo, on 25 September 2012. "The Chocolate Pansy or Chocolate Soldier (Junonia iphita) is a butterfly found in Asia.... Individuals maintain a territory and are usually found close to the ground level and often bask in the sun." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_iphita

Came across a butterfly photo the other day that I hadn't uploaded, when I was searching for something else. This is a Leopard Lacewing, a female I think, in the Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo.. Taken way back in early May. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cethosia_cyane