I didn't see as many butterflies - numbers, species - this summer as last year. We had a cold, wet May and June followed by a quick transition to searing hot conditions, so that was probably a factor. It wreaked havoc in my garden; root veggies did fine but anything above ground was slow to produce. My sunflowers didn't open until the 4th week in September - usually they are blooming by mid-August.

On the butterfly front, I did see sulphurs, whites, crescents, skippers, and a few Painted Ladies, including this one, seen here on an alfalfa bloom. The world's most widespread butterfly!

One more garden shot to come, then on to a new image set...

Photographed in my backyard in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Painted Lady Vanessa cardui insect butterfly beauty alfalfa backyard garden prairie village Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024

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The Painted Lady is found on every continent except South America and Antarctica. There were large numbers in my area last summer, especially this day in a huge field of wild sunflowers, where they were feeding on nectar.

As with many butterflies, the ventral or underside view of its wings shows a very different pattern than the dorsal, or upper side.

It's good to look at these warm summer images, because a few days ago we were hit with early snow that doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. The sudden transition from fall to winter weather has been jarring. I'm still in denial. Sometimes the first snow doesn't arrive until mid-November or even later. But here we are.

Photographed on the edge of Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Painted Lady Vanessa cardui wildlife insect butterfly beauty beautiful flower Prairie Sunflower Helianthus petiolaris yellow close up summer warmth wild prairie SK Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023

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Photographed at Konza Prairie, Kansas; scanned from the original Fujichrome Velvia slide. Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2002 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Painted Lady butterfly insect orange tallgrass prairie Konza Prairie Kansas USA United States

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In my friend Pia's garden at Tugwell Creek, west of Sooke, British Columbia.

Scanned from the original Fujichrome Velvia slide, September 1991.

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Painted Lady Vanessa cardui insect butterfly feeding nectar flower garden macro vertical summer wild nature Sooke Vancouver Island BC British Columbia Canada film scan Velvia

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I knew I was looking through my macro lens at a very pretty butterfly, but when I got around to processing I could hardly believe the spectacular colour patterns on the underside of its wings.

That tiny strip of out-of-focus material at the bottom bothers me; I wish I could have avoided it somehow, or at least the small portion that rises up at the centre. It's a small thing, yes, but I'm a perfectionist. And I understand that there is no such thing as perfection. We live with our contradictions. I enjoy the challenge of trying to come away with the photo I envision - exactly, no compromises. It happens so rarely...

Lying flat in the muck near a side branch of the river, I couldn't do much to change the angle of view because I didn't want to scare the butterfly away. I love the look of this little critter anyway. And I enjoyed the process - trying to put it all together in the field - as much as creating the final result. Probably more.

I did put more effort into photographing butterflies this past summer than I have for several years, and have to say I have a greater appreciation for photographers who create excellent, flawless images of them. It takes hard work and dedication. Somehow I was reminded of my first published photos, in photo magazines back in the 1970s. I think my first three submissions were accepted. I thought I was hot stuff. Then I received about ten rejections in a row, and came back down to earth. With this photo, I came to earth - literally and figuratively. More butterflies to follow as I round out the current insect series before moving on to something else.

I found this Red Admiral in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2023 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Tags:   Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta wildlife insect butterfly close up macro puddling mud riverbank wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2023

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