Swallowtail

This swallowtail butterfly was photographed at Virginia Tech's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center off Diamond Springs Road in Virginia Beach. This garden is one of the area's best kept secrets. Home to acres of plantings the garden was a buzz with, butterfies, bees and dragonflies. It's well worth a trip. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 100, 100mm macro.

Monarch

The monarch reigns supreme at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens Butterfly House. This Saturday morning is the annual Monarch tagging and release by the Butterfly Society of Virginia. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro.

Zebra Swallowtail

- A beautiful Zebra Swallowtail photographed at the Butterfly House in Norfolk's Botanical Gardens. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Another Butterfly

- Yet another butterfly photo the gulf fritillary from the Butterfly House at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. This was a really productive day in terms of getting great photos. We started early so the butterflies weren't real active yet making the chances of getting a good image much better. Canon 7D, 1/60sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Buckeye

- This Buckeye butterfly was a perfect specimen. While it hard to see at the resolutions used for the blog, I was very happy with the detail in this photograph. With three insect photos in a row, I guess this is bug week. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

Gulf Fritillary

- Another butterfly picture from my weekend photo shoot at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

Passion Butterfly

Another photo from yesterday's "Butterfly Shoot" at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. This pair of mating Gulf Fritillary or "Passion Butterflies" were oblivious to to a bunch of photographers and constant camera clicking. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

This morning I took part in a "Butterfly Shoot" at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens in Norfolk, Virginia. Had a great time in the butterfly house and got some great pictures of butterflies and caterpillars. This is the Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar. Look for more pictures from the shoot is future blog posts. Canon 7D, 1/200, f/3.5, ISO 400, 100mm macro.

The Monarch

From 2010 Blog

- The Monarch is the best known of all North American butterflies. This male is a great example of the species, large with bold orange and black coloring. They are unmistakable when spotted during the spring and late summer migrations. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south just as birds do on a regular basis. However, no single individual makes the entire round trip. Canon 7D, 1/640 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 200mm focal length.

Butterfly World

From 2010 Blog

We visited "Butterfly World" in Coconut Creek, Florida today. It was pretty amazing to walk among so many beautiful butterflies, birds and plants. I took a lot of pictures including this one when I first entered the butterfly zone. I've posted a few more shots to this Picasa Web Album. Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 200mm focal length.