This little guy (or gal, I can’t tell), a Peleides Blue Morpho butterfly known as the “Emperor”, wasn’t easy to photograph. Neither were his or her friends buzzing around the Tropical Butterfly Garden at the Parque de las Ciencias (Science Park Museum) in Granada, Spain. The warm temperatures inside the rainforest-like enclosure, highly recommended to me by the staff, seemed to energize their mischievous instincts. In a coordinated series of maneuvers, they were able to get me to walk from one end of the room to the other, resting nanoseconds before my finger could pull the trigger. Dashing off with what appeared to be sadistic butterfly smiles on their faces.
I moved slowly, not wanting to disturb them, but just ended up looking strange enough after 20 minutes that staff came over to watch what I was up to. I made the most pathetic “snapping a picture gesture” and remained persistent. Outside the window I could see a large group of young school children on their way to the Tropical Butterfly Garden – so I waited with my Panasonic Lumix pointed at one plant. Hoping.
Just in time, this 15 centimeter Peleides Blue Morpho landed right in focus. Click.