March Morpho Mania

One of the hidden treasures of St. Louis is the Butterfly House which is associated with the equally awesome Missouri Botanical Garden. March is the time when the Butterfly House 'floods' the conservatory with tons of Common Blue Morpho butterflies - they are eye-catchingly blue - and one of my favorites for their vivid color. Somehow, I never knew about this or had forgotten, but I finally made it!

A and I traveled to the Butterfly House a day after the early Spring/late Winter snow whomping - so it was interesting to be in 80 degree weather and see the outside white with snow. Of course, with the temperature difference, I had to wait a while for my lens to acclimate to the warmth and humidity. I'd also forgotten that I don't particularly like things flying at my head, even tiny little butterflies, so I spent the first part of the visit ducking a little. There seemed like there were millions (probably just hundreds) of butterflies flitting about.

The only annoying thing about these beautiful common blue morphos is that their color is only seen when they have their wings spread - which means, that the only chance to get to really get a good picture is when they land... and when they land, it's usually like this:

    

But patience and persistence paid off:

             



There were more than just morphos flying about:

     



Also some flower pics for you to enjoy: