Doris Longwing Butterfly On Leaf

Title

Doris Longwing Butterfly On Leaf

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography

Description

I did not realize it at the time, but I guess, you could say I had a Doris Day on this visit to our local Conservatory. There were many butterflies floating about, but these seemed to be the most cooperative! Boy, Life can be petty wonderful when beauty like this is just waiting for you to walk up and SEE it!

September 11th is always a weird day. I think most people remember where they were, what they were doing and the horrible, horrible feelings that weighed us down for a long time after that dreadful day. The anniversary always brings those memories back and I try to find a way to find peace. This year I think I actually found the perfect way to spend the day; visit the Franklin Park Conservatory. Every year they have a Butterflies and Blooms exhibit that is like heaven on earth for me! I get lost in the quiet beauty of the world here with gorgeous plants, bubbling waterfalls, Koi fish swimming, Chihuly Glass installations and tropical butterflies fluttering past. I always love watching the delight on children's faces AND grown-up's. That never fails to bring me joy!

Doris Longwing butterflies are not very big, but they are bright and fly relatively slowly. They demand your attention.

Such a strikingly beautiful butterfly; a Doris Longwing. Doris was the name of a sea nymph in Greek mythology. . . but the scientific name for this beauty is a Heliconius Laparus doris butterfly.

The Heliconius Laparus doris butterfly is one of the strongest butterflies in the Amazon region. They can live up to 9 months. Normally, neotropical butterflies only live a couple weeks so this is an extremely long time. How they do this has to do with a characteristic no other butterfly but the Heliconius have and this is the their ability to digest pollen externally while it's on the proboscis. . . this ability as clear to see in this shot!

Another reason for their longevity is the Heliconius Laparus Doris Longwing belongs to a group in the Heliconiini tribe of butterflies that has a closed discal cell on the hindwings. This characteristic is tied to unpalatable Heliconiini butterflies. Palatability and unpalatibility effects the flight style and patterns of the butterfly. Since this butterfly belongs to the unpalatable, closed discal cell on the hindwing group, their flight patterns are slow and smooth, since they have no worries of being eaten. That seems like a very good thing to me!



I really appreciate you taking time to look at my artwork. Thank you so much!

I am very concerned with our environment and have decided to donate any money I make from any sales of this image to the ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND.....because the Earth needs a good lawyer! We all need to speak up and support efforts to protect our environment. We will not get a second chance!


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October 4th, 2019

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