Sometimes it just takes a bit of luck. On this particular day, I was walking a path to Quabbin’s shoreline with landscapes on my mind. On the way out, I was gifted this opportunity. 
The butterfly spent a fair amount of time warming and opened and closed its wings often. The hardest part was standing back up after making the image. 🙂
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Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
The colours have such a beautiful sheen; lovely..
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I found them mesmerizing, but not so much to stop me from making images. 🙂
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Wow what a beauty
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Yes, some serious Lepidopteran pulchritude.
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Zounds! You’re pulling out some serious vocabulary, Steve! I like it! 🙂
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Don’t get used to it. I knows me a lot of words but cain’t always remembers ’em.
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Oof! I well know what that is like! Beautiful image, though. These are among my very favorites.
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It definitely shot to the top of my chart for local butterflies…well, at least until the monarchs returned to my yard. 🙂
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I know that feeling well. Worth it though!
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I had a feeling i wasn’t the only one. 🙂
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What incredible beauty. Thanks for re-gifting! 🙂
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Thanks. I hadn’t thought of it that way but glad that you did.
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I’ve never seen anything like this. That teal is absolutely gorgeous. It’s interesting that you mentioned the butterfly warming itself, opening and closing its wings. It’s only been this year that I’ve realized they’re often easier to approach early in the day, when they’re just warming up — both literally and figuratively.
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Speaking of color: why is this called a red-spotted purple, when it clearly is orange-spotted blue? I just looked at a page of images on the venerable Google, and they all appear teal blue and orange. Could it be my monitor? Or is it “just one of those things”?
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I have no answer for that, except that there is variation in their markings and the original moniker may have been made with specimens that exhibited that tendency more than blue and orange.
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Most insects slow down in cooler temperatures so the morning time is the right time. 🙂
Sometimes I don’t seize all opportunities and this was a chance to do a video to share with you of the warming process. Next time.
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It seems you have an advantage being out so early because the temperature is lower and the insects (and reptiles) are more likely to stay put till they warm up.
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Absolutely. Mama didn’t raise no fools. I refuse to refrigerate them unnaturally as many do to keep them still. Same for moths. I don’t put out lights at night to draw them in. Some things are just more important than a photograph. I am not criticizing those who do, but I don’t want to interfere with another creatures success at life just to get a picture. Were I a scientist, amateur or professional, studying them then that’s different.
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The hardest part! 🙂 I get that! And you were gifted, I agree. It’s a privilege, isn’t it? What a beautiful photo you made! I know I’ve seen these a few times, but not in years. Thank you.
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Yeah, that hard part. I used to be able to spring to full standing from a kneel but no longer.
I really do fell privileged to see the beauty in nature…whether a butterfly, a sunrise, or something a bit harder to see which fills one with wonder when recognized.
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Lepidopteran pulchritude, a red-spotted purple. Never have I seen one but it surely is a beauty and I will not remember its scientific name past my comment. If I were younger and wanted to impress people I’d make an effort to remember its scientific name. I’m glad that you are seeing butters. Last year was a bummer and I believe for me, its been just as bad this year. I’ve not seen a monarch thus far and, in the past by this date, some had begun to filter through and heavily use the white blooming frost weed which is not the same as the one that grows in your area. I am very concerned about the monarch that is native to east of the Rockies and on into the northeast and Canada. But there is a population that remains on the west coast and I don’t believe it goes to Mexico. Also there is or was a permanent population in Florida. I wonder how it fared during the hurricane.
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Sorry to mislead you, Yvonne. Lepidopteran pulchritude was just me attempting humor. The actual Latin for this species is Limenitis arthemis which I had buried in the tags.
I haven’t photographed too many butterflies this year, but it has been a better season and hopefully a sign of better times. I don’t think the Monarchs are “out of the woods” yet, but at least it’s a positive sign.
I imagine butterflies did not fare well in the hurricanes.
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Ha ha well the joke is on me. I would have gone nuts trying to Google that made up name.
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Mesmerizing!!
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Thank you.
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