Sunday, February 22, 2009

Henry's Elfin springtime tiny beauty.


This little gem of a butterfly is hard to see and mostly over looked because of its size. When I first started butterfly watching and photography I wanted this butterfly pretty bad, so I drove 2 + hours to Raven Rock State Park to join a field trip in March to find it. Some were sighted but not close enough for good photographs.

The next year I learned that right here in the yard we had a huge population of them (ok maybe 10, but 4-5 is usually the best you will do anywhere in NC). So in the past 8-9 years I have worked the woods and hedges to get a good photo. We have loads of wild Eastern Red Bud trees that they seem to favor the blooms on.

Here is the Henry's Elfin, Callophrys henrici on a sprouting blackberry twig they are about 1/2 tall. You can find more info with three more photos and a full scale web page on everything you need to know about them here on my web page on Henry's Elfins.

BTW This photo was taken in the wind with my Canon DSLR 20D and 180mm macro lens with a flash to enhance the ambient light.

7 comments:

Michelle said...

Hi Randy and Meg, Great blog! Love all your photos and I can't wait to see more of your garden. Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful picture with great detail. I answered your question about cat harnesses on my post.

Unknown said...

Hello! THanks for stopping by my blog. I agree with the comment you left. I prefer to support local retail stores when i can. Often though, i dont have much money so I have to go for cheap stuff.

I love your blog!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Very nice and wow can you see the detail. I like that you explain what camera and lens you used. I hope one day to get a nicer camera so I can get better photos.

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Hi Randy and Med, what an amazing photo you are sharing with us today, just brilliant quality.

Take care/Tyra

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

That's an awesome photo. I love how butterflies (and bees) look all "fuzzy" close up. This one looks like it's posing for you, specially. One of my goals this year is to learn to ID more than the four or so butterflies I currently know!

Unknown said...

What an excellent photo! Love all the fine detail on the butterfly.