Purple Honeycreeper

This is "Purple Honeycreeper" ... The Butterfly haven not only has a spectacular collection of butterflies, but also some very beautiful birds ...

Personally, this is one of my favourite shots ... I had always wished to see a bird looking at itself in the mirror ... According to "mirror test", birds dont recognize themselves in a mirror and frequently attack their own reflections out of fear or curiosity ... Mirror Test is a research technique that gauges self-awareness among animals ... Human children tend to fail this test until they are 1.5 to 2 years old. Few animals which have passed the mirror test are common chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, dolphins and elephants ...

I will put more photos when I have time.

Releasing butterflies to the haven

Lunar Moth

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This is Luna moth or Lunar Moth [Actius luna] ...
This nocturnal insect is also found in deciduous hardwood forests in North America, from Canada to Northern Mexico.

Atlas Moth

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The Atlas Moth [Attacus atlas] has the largest wing surface area of all moths ... Atlas Moths don't eat at all throughout their adult life which lasts for about two weeks. An adult Atlast Moth doesn't even have a mouth and lives off fat reserves built up when it was a caterpillar. They quickly mate, lay eggs, and die shortly thereafter.

Atlas Moths are found only in Southeast Asia.

The butterfly haven

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A place to get up close and personal with butterflies from around the world ... Here's "Owl butterfly" [top] native to the rainforest of Central America ... and "Cairns Birdwing", native to Australia.

Many more images to post as soon as I get time ....

Butterflies everywhere ...

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This 2,700 square foot greenhouse is filled with about 1700 to 2000 butterflies ... and they can be seen flying everywhere ... Here's a boy looking at a flying "Cairns Birdwing", the largest butterfly species of Australia ... and below is a "Queen Butterfly", feeding on nectare just at the entrace of the haven, literally on the walkway.

Butterfly Haven

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A look at the "Judy Istock Butterfly Haven" ... All the pictures in this blog have been taken in this awesome place.

Pipevine Swallowtail

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Pipevine swallowtail

Rice Paper Butterfly

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Cairns Birdwings

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Cairns Birdwings

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This is Cairns Birdwing - female ...
and the above image is of a Cairns Birdwing - male
Sexual dimorphism is strong, with females appreciably larger and less colourful than males.

A Blue Morpho and an Owl Butterfly

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On top is a Blue Morpho ... and below is an Owl Butterfly ...

Just like Owl ...

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This is Eryphanis ployxenes ...
Member of owl butterfly subfamily ...
Read the comment, for a better understanding ...

Owl Butterfly ... and a relative ...

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To the right is Owl Butterfly [Caligo],
to the left is a butterfly that looks very similar to owl [Eryphanis]...

Low's Swallowtail

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Low's Swallowtail ... [Papilio lowii]...

Rose Swallowtail butterfly

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Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly

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Green banded Swallowtail

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Black Swordtail.

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Releasing butterflies in the haven

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Image 1 ... A Blue Morpho[left] and a Malachite being released in the haven [among many others] ...

Only the staff members are allowed to touch the butterflies. However if the butterflies themselves decide to perch upon any visitor, it's suggested to leave them alone ... or do a little dance so that they fly away.

Image 2 ... A model of a butterfly ... Exactly positioning itself to speak for the Nature Museum ... It's an Owl Butterfly ...

Gaudy Commadore

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Gaudy Commadore ... [Precis octavia]....

White Peacock Butterfly

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Buckeye and Postman

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Buckeye [left] and Postman butterflies ...

Mexican Bluewing Butterfly

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The top two are females and the last one male ... Males have more color compared to their female counterparts ...

Feasting on flower nectare

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A butterfly feeding on Lantana ...
The length of proboscis varies in different butterflies to suit the flowers on which the butterfly feeds ...
I think the butterfly here is The Great Eggfly, but not too sure ...

Rapid wing flapping butterfly

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This butterfly flaps it's wings so fast that it's fun to observe it ...

Chocolate Pansy Butterfly

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Chocolate Pansy ... [ Junonia iphita ]... feasting on fruit juice [ mango, I guess]... Most adult butterflies suck up flower nectar and also love rotting fruits juice ...

Gray Pansy ... and the Archduke ...

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To the right is Gray Pansy [ Junonia atlites]...
and to the left is the Archduke [Lexias dirtea]...

Gray Pansy Butterfly

Tiger Longwing

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Tiger Longwing ... [Heliconius lecale]..

Thanks Doug for the name ... it was a beautiful butterfly!

Enjoying the warm sunshine.

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Queen

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The Queen and the Monarch butterflies are very similar. They both belong to the genus Danaus in the family Danaidae. Members of the family Danaidae are "milkweed butterflies," so named because the caterpillars feed only on milkweed plants.

There are 300 species of Danaidae worldwide, but only four are found in North America - the Monarch (Danaus plexippus), the Queen (Danaus gilippus), the Tropical Milkweed Butterfly (Lycorea cleobaea) and the Tropic Queen (Danaus eresimus),. Most of the milkweed butterflies are found in tropical Asia.