Too hot sometimes
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| Meadow Argus Junonia villida |
When I came home this morning there was a butterfly sun-basking on the wall next to the front door, which faces east. It had clearly found the wall a perfect place to catch the morning sun for its daily warm-up. However, by the time I returned it was sitting with its wings closed to avoid the ever warmer sunshine.
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| The shadow cast by the butterfly was so clear |
Then, as I walked past the butterfly I noticed how it seemed to be in a rather awkward pose. It was aligned askew with the wall.
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| A minimal shadow |
But as ever, things make sense in nature. The butterfly had aligned itself along the direction of the sunshine, and angle, so that it cast the smallest possible shadow.
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| It was holding itself perfectly, all in line with the sunshine by leaning and twisting its body |
I took a look from its front, and I was impressed by how it held itself stationery, although I expect that it had moved ever so slightly to re-align as the sun rose and arced across the sky.
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| Very well adapted - the butterfly was even tilting its body to minimise exposure to the sunshine |
As for the species, a Meadow Argus, I usually only see them in the nearby forest glades, often feeding on ground cover weeds, and they are usually much to flighty to photograph. I have seen them in the garden over the past few weeks, but this is the first one I've managed to grab a picture of. This is a freshly emerged example, note its clean complete and un-frayed edges. My butterfly guru, Suzi Bond, tells me there has been a noticeable emergence in recent weeks.
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