These are butterflies from The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. I have been to Key West several times and this is the first time we decided to visit the conservatory. If you find yourself wandering the streets of Key West, I highly recommend stopping in here to visit the butterflies. As you pass through the double set of doors, you are immediately surrounded by hundreds of colorful wings dancing through the foliage. There were several families with small children walking down the path and I heard several proclaim that they wanted to set up shop and camp here. Not only will you find butterflies, but several species of tropical birds and many tropical plants that the local population needs to feed on.
I was quite excited to find several Blue Morphos flitting about, at last I would capture one to show it vibrant blue wings! I have seen these butterflies in the jungles of Costa Rica and in the Amazon Jungle in Peru. I have photographed them on leaves with their wings folded, showing the brown with several circles. (They look similar to Owl Butterflies with their wings folded). I was stoked, I had my 70mm to 200mm lens on and was watching and waiting. It turns out they rarely stop and rest with their wings open. They are constantly in motion punking other butterflies! They seem to delight in dive bombing their brethren throughout the canopy. One finally stopped in front of us, this was my chance, but alas it would not open its wings, even with Kathy gently blowing on it to encourage the butterfly “full monty”. So I have no photos from here to show you the electric blue of the Blue Morpho. Next time…
Eric Blackmore Photography 