Touch Down

Every Spring, The San Diego Zoo marshalls butterflies from all over the world for their Butterfly Jungle. There are many dozen different varieties and thousands in total, fluttring in and about the exhibit, landing on people and being shot by local Photographers. Tripods are not allowed due to space constraints, so we used a Monopod to capture this Macro of an Orange Iulia just as it was landing.

Dryas iulia (often incorrectly spelled julia), commonly called the Julia Butterfly or Julia Heliconian, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. The sole representative of its  genus Dryas, it is native from  Brazil to southern  Texas and  Florida, and in summer can sometimes be found as far north as eastern  Nebraska.

This butterfly is a fast flier and frequents clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as  lantanas and  Shepherd’s needle (Scandix pecten-veneris), and the tears of  caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears. The species is popular in  butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day. www.kerstenbeck.com