Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens

I haven't posted to this blog in a while. Though I've taken tons of photos I haven't been able to do much visiting so I thought it only fair that I didn't post and draw comments and visits that I didn't have time to return. But I've missed posting my photos and I've got to do this for me so... I'm back and hope I find time to return any comments and visits that I get. These are from my visit to the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont, California.

Butterflies - SDWAP

These are butterflies from the butterfly exhibit at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. I can't get over how many photos I took and not just of the butterflies. Personally, I can't wait to go back again. I could stay there all day...

Camera Critters - Collection

I thought I would do a collection of the critters I capture but don't always post because they get pushed aside for something else I want to post. These are some of the little critters I photographed in my outings the past week or two.


Butterflies from the Butterfly Pavillion at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.


A rabbit at Descanso Gardens in La Canada/Flintridge above. A bird outside the greenhouse at the Huntington Museum, Library & Botanical Gardens.


Birds at Descanso Gardens.


I can't remember where this interesting little lady bug was from.


And my most favorite capture of a critter this week goes to this poor little lost doggy that some poor kid left behind at the Huntington Museum & Botanical Gardens. He was just standing there on the post standing guard in the Japanese Garden.


If you're not tired of my critters you should see the cute little baby ducks in the post below this one. And if you're really not tired of critters,check out more Camera Critters by clicking on the icon below:

Anise Swallowtail & Old World Swallowtail

More shots from my last trip to the Butterfly Pavilion. This is the Anise Swallowtail. What a pretty little thing this is. Since this exhibit is on display through August or September, I thought they must have new shipments brought in periodically to replace the butterflies.


They're so fragile and so short. I learned that they actually "grow" these butterflies in the museum and when they've emerged from their crysallis and have stretched their wings, they bring them down to the Pavillion. I would love to get a look inside of that room.


I thought this was an interesting tidbit of info. Like all swallowtail caterpillars, if disturbed, it will suddenly evert bright orange osmeteria (or "stinkhorns") from just behind its head, glandular structures which give off a foul odor. (Quoted from Wikipedia.)



Oops! Wait. Now that I'm looking at this, the body is a different color than the Anise. I don't think this last shot is the same butterfly. LOL! I have to go look this last one up. Okay. The one above is an Old World Swallowtail. That calls for one more photo.


Check out more Camera Critters by clicking on the icon below:

Butterflies Galore

Okay, as promised, here are the shots of the butterflies that I photographed at the Butterfly Pavillion at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. I know it's a lot of photos but I really did just post one shot of each butterfly....I think. I identified some of them but not all. Feel free to let me know the names of any I couldn't identify. You can click on any of these for a larger image.

There were kids all over the place. I spent half my time trying not to step on any butterflies and the kids. The man at the door very gently explained to the kids how delicate the butterfly wings were and this was why they could not and should not touch them. So why are there always the kids who just have to try to touch them anyway?


Still, the kids were cute and so excited. I was a little excited myself. I'd never seen so many butterflies, most of them sitting there letting me take as many close-ups as I wanted. I was a big kid with a camera.

JULIA & PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL

If you have a butterfly garden near you or ever have the opportunity to visit something like this I highly recommend going.

GREAT SOUTHERN WHITE

MONARCH

WHITE PEACOCK & ?

BUCKEYE

CABBAGE WHITE - JULIA?

ZEBRA LONGWING

I'll definitely go back before the exhibit is gone (September). Just what I need... 200-300 more butterfly shots. LOL!

Pavillion of Wings

This is the first time I haven't had a lot of time to visit participants of my own meme. I'm about to get to it so I have a lot of catching up to do. But before I did, I had to post at least one photo from my little adventure yesterday. The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles has a Butterfly Pavillion from April 15 - September 7th this year. I just learned about it and apparently this is their 9th year. I got some really great shots and messed up some really great shots. Just had to share one of them before I start visiting my folks from Watery Wednesday.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY


This is one of the shots I messed up. In the view finder it looked perfect. It's not as sharp as I thought it was but I still love it. I'll share more of these beautiful butterflies and try to figure out their names after I'm done catching up with WW.

More from the Arboretum

Just a few more shots that I took at the Los Angeles Arboretum. The arboretum has a pretty decent little hill on the property. They have a watefall where you can take the steps up, walk around the top of the waterfall and it leads to another pond where during the right season it's full of dragon flies and butterflies. Beyond this area there is an area I love. It's the photo below.


To me this area is beautiful and I don't know that this photo really captures it. The beautiful green of the grass, the blue sky peeking through the trees, the patchwork of light on the grass... It's one of those areas you just want to spread out a blanket and lie down with your head in the lap of a loved one listening to the birds and waterfall in the distance.


I've only started revisiting the Arboretum last year. This is the first time I've seen the wood duck there. I wish I had captured the colors better but this was in a shaded area with the light reflecting off the water.



This little guy below played with me for a good little while. It flittered around and landed near me but when I moved slightly it would flitter off but it would flitter all around me coming so close I thought it was trying to land on me then it would return to this wood railing near the water. That happened a few times before another butterfly caught it's interest and they flittered off together.

I'd Be A Butterfly

I was hoping to get some butterfly shots when I went to the Descanso Gardens. There were plenty flying around but only a couple decided not to be too shy. Some of these aren't as clear as I like but I still like them so I'm sharing them anyway (smile). You know, if I could fly I'd be a butterfly.

The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly.

~Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun



I don't know if these dark ones are moths or butterflies...