Monday, June 29, 2009

Blooming Butterflies

Butterflies live a precarious existence because of habitat destruction, pesticides and collection. Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is doing its part to help save the butterfly by planting native plant species providing food and shelter for butterflies in some of its outdoor gardens. The Blooming Butterflies Exhibit allows people to walk within an enclosed tent and move among the butterflies. The Exhibit which runs until September was made possible by the generous support of Como Friends, and the plants and materials were donated by local businesses: Linder's Garden Center, Monrovia and Interlock Concrete Works. Quite a display, and it's AWESOME!

13 comments:

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

Nice butterfly capture, as often they have their wings folded up, hiding the colorful top sides of their wings. There are several butterfly gardens in Costa Rica, as we have lots of butterflies. I have shown a few on my site, although the best butterfly photo I have seen is on my wife's Scottsdale Daily Photo site. If you click on butterflies on her index you will see a photo of a "crazy 88" butterfly that generated 34 comments, several of expressed surprise or disbelief that such a butterfly even exits.

Your comment about the loss of habitat is important. Julie planted our yard in Arizona with plant species that the Desert Botanical Garden says are good hosts for butterflies. (She also planted secies that are good for hummingbirds.)

Vogon Poet said...

A lucky butterfly on a sweet watermelon, funny mix of colors and shapes.

Olivier said...

bravo pour la photo, tu as pris ce beau papillon et sans filet ;o)
bravo for the photograph, you took this nice butterfly and without net ;o)

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

gorgeous shot. how long did you wait to capture this photo? well done

B SQUARED said...

I love these places. We have them at home and they are so fascinating.

Abe Lincoln said...

Beautiful photo of a fantastic butterfly. Habitat destruction in Mexico is slowly dooming the majestic Monarch and there are many others.

I have made my backyard into a crutch for wildlife in that I plant things they either need, like or depend on for their survival. I think most people could do more to help Nature out but most don't.

Almost any kind of bug, good or bad, causes a lot of folks to look for a spray can. I think this has contributed to a decline in wildlife.

Halcyon said...

What a beauty. I'm glad they're doing this for the butterflies and also for the people who love them!

Neva said...

What a great closeup! I have planted plants to attract butterflies but I am not sure how that will work!

Peter said...

I visited a similar place in Italy, at Collodi (the "home" of Pinnochio), but never managed such a good photo as yours!

marley said...

They are beautiful! Great photo.

photowannabe said...

Beautiful capture and that's a wonderful thing that the Como Friends have done.

Bergson said...

un papillon at restaurant

Faye Pekas said...

Beautiful butterfly. We have a place similar here called The Butterfly Pavilion. It is run by a collage. These beautiful creatures certainly need to be preserved.