Monarchs

On July 4th, I took a trip to a sunny, milkweed-covered hilltop in Newbury, Massachusetts. There were glorious numbers of butterflies, including this Monarch pair:

I saw dozens of Monarchs, 8-10 Painted Ladies, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, several hairstreak and skipper species… the hilltop was alive with beautiful insects.
Hilltops are always great spots to find butterflies, but the combination of the location with the sea of blooming milkweed made for quite a show.

Tags: Butterflies, Insects, Macro, Monarch, Nature, Photography

11 thoughts on “Monarchs”

frndistan on August 3, 2012 at 12:44 am said:

butterflies are looking so beautiful……………. i love them……………………

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nonoymanga on August 3, 2012 at 1:01 am said:

Amazing details!!! Cheers Nonoy Manga

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milkayphoto on August 3, 2012 at 4:38 pm said:

Beautiful, Tom! Love the mirror image qualty of it. You paint a lovely scene of that hilltop, too. A place where you cannot help but feel blessed by the touch of Mother Nature!

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- tomwhelan on August 8, 2012 at 9:28 pm said:
  
  Old Town Hill is an amazing place for butterflying – I’ve seen some beautiful fall foliage images of it as well. Thanks, Tracy!
  
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Inspired and pretty on August 4, 2012 at 2:48 pm said:

So beautiful…

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- tomwhelan on August 8, 2012 at 9:30 pm said:
  
  Merci, Jocelyne…
  
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Anita Bower on August 6, 2012 at 2:37 pm said:

Just lovely.

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- tomwhelan on August 8, 2012 at 9:32 pm said:
  
  Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
  
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joshi daniel on August 8, 2012 at 1:28 am said:

beautiful and well spotted 🙂

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Mike on August 8, 2012 at 2:12 pm said:

I love butterflies. Each one is different.

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James A on September 10, 2012 at 1:35 pm said:

lovely..

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