Silver Studded Blues

Went butterfly hunting with a friend a few days ago. A colony of silver studded blues was flying at a local wildlife reserve. They gather to roost in grass tussocks in late afternoon. Hundreds of the tiny things. Hard to get good shots because (a) they're very small; (b) they do a lot of fluttering around; (c) they land on long grass which waves around in the slightest breeze; (d) they have a knack of landing on a blade of grass that's obscured by other vegetation. But some couldn't escape being caught by the camera and lens (K3 + Irix 150mm).

Here are a few of the results. The wing upper surface is blue for a male, brown for a female. The 'silver studs' are the shiny bluish marks in the outer row of spots visible in the first picture.

Thoughts, comments etc. welcome as usual.

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Steve

Love the first one and also 4. Really puts the lovely little creatures in their element.

+1 from me and a thumbs-up for number four

#4 for me, Steve, lovely composition and picturesque quality.

As above and without question, image 4 is a stand out image.

Best regards

Thanks, folks. Interesting that no. 4 stands out, that was my attempt to do 'art' rather than 'butterfly'. No. 4, as well as No. 1 and a couple not posted here, is going on the website of the local branch of Butterfly Conservation, the choice of my butterfly-hunting friend who is a committee member.

Steve

If you are going to do a 'portrait' of something, all well and good but there is certainly lots of space for 'art' so I'm surprised that you express surprise at your 'attempt to do art'. It is a standout image for exactly that reason - and with such a difficult subject as silver studded blues that hide in the grass stems, even more so. Jolly well done!

Thanks. The reference to 'doing art' was because that's the last thing on my mind when setting out to photograph wildlife. My friend asked for some shots of groups of butterflies in the long grass, it was only when trying to frame things in the viewfinder that it dawned on me that there was potential for more than just a portrait of a butterfly. Note to self: must think of 'doing art' with wildlife more often!

Steve