Silver-spotted Skipper — Image by kenne
― fromThe Critic as Artist by
Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly — Image by kenne
The Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) is one of my favorite butterflies common in the Tucson area. It is a
large butterfly with a wingspan of about 3.5 inches. This butterfly ranges throughout the U.S. and Central America.
Queen Butterfly — Image by kenne
Marine Blue Butterfly On Blue-Green Algae Scum (Cienega Creek) — Image by kenne
In our recent walk along Cienega Creek, much of the creek’s surface water has begun to dry up, leaving behind pools
of water perfect for the buildup of blue-green scum. We noticed a marine blue butterfly flying over one of the pools,
suddenly landing a leaf floating on top of the scum.
— kenne
Desert Orangetip Butterfly — Image by kenne
— H. L. Mencken
Pipevine Swallowtail Abstract — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual.
Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom.
If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented.
Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge.”
— Robert Henri
Queen Butterfly — Image by kenne
Don’t lose hope
spring is on its way
look, and you will see
the signs everywhere.
— kenne
Checker White Butterfly — Image by kenne
One Day Butterfly
Aren’t we all one-day butterflies,
not aware of time.
Searching for partners or honey
until Death kisses us.
Then in his arms, tenderly rocked,
waiting for a new chance
to fly away again
and join the dance
of the one-day butterfly
— Mary Emily Bradley
Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— Mahatma Gandhi
Common Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) — Image by kenne
So, I begin researching articles on butterfly color and found “The evolution of color:
How butterfly wings can shift in hue” in ScienceDaily. They found that buckeyes
and other Junonia species can create a rainbow of structural colors simply by tuning
the thickness of the wing scale’s bottom layer (the lamina), which creates
iridescent colors in the same way a soap bubble does.
“In each Junonia species, structural color came from the lamina. And they are producing
a big range of lamina thicknesses that create a rainbow of different colors, everything
from gold to magenta to blue to green,” says first author Rachel Thayer.
“This helps us understand how structural color has evolved over millions of years.”
You can find more information structured color at Marine Biological Laboratory.
(Please note, I’m a photographer, not a biologist.)
— kenne
Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Swallowtail Butterfly — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— from Magpiety by Philip Levine
Black Swallowtail (08/29/14) — Images by kenne
— kenne
Southern Dogface — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Therefore am I still
A lover of the meadows and the woods,
And mountains; and of all that we behold
From this green earth; of all the mighty world
Of eye and ear, — both what they half-create,
And what perceive; well pleased to recognize
In nature and the language of the sense,
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being.
— from Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour by William Wordsworth
Texas Crescent Butterfly — Image by kenne
I like writing about where I am,
where I happen to be sitting,
the humidity or the clouds,
the scene outside the window—
a pink tree in bloom,
a neighbor walking his small, nervous dog.
And if I am drinking
a cup of tea at the time
or a small glass of whiskey,
I will find a line to put it on.
— from In the Room of a Thousand Miles by Billy Collins
