Not always the plant in focus - Saxifraga cespitosa

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17) Saxifraga, Heuchera and other Saxifragaceae

I was looking for plants when I came upon a school of butterflies (Can you say "...school of butterflies"?). It was the common "blåvinge" ("blue-wing" (Polyommatus icarus) as we call it here) and some of them sat here by the saxifrage, to rest?

Edit correction: Fjellblåvinge (Albulina orbitulus)

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Lori S.'s picture

Lori S. (not verified)

Mon, 08/02/2010 - 8:14am

Here, the city is very poor for butterflies and moths, but the nearby mountains are much, much better.  We often see small gatherings of similar looking blue butterflies (I'm not up on Lepidoptera IDs) in the mountains - sadly, my photographic abilities aren't up to getting good pictures, like yours!  Sometimes, we see them dancing around over and apparently feeding on charcoal from old bonfires, horse dung, and damp spots along the trail - getting some kind of nutrients or minerals, I suppose.

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Mon, 08/02/2010 - 1:28pm
Skulski wrote:

Here, the city is very poor for butterflies and moths, but the nearby mountains are much, much better.  We often see small gatherings of similar looking blue butterflies (I'm not up on Lepidoptera IDs) in the mountains - sadly, my photographic abilities aren't up to getting good pictures, like yours!  Sometimes, we see them dancing around over and apparently feeding on charcoal from old bonfires, horse dung, and damp spots along the trail - getting some kind of nutrients or minerals, I suppose.

.....getting good pictures! My camera and I do not always agree about what to focus on. This was just good luck!
What do you call a gathering of butterflies? A school of, a hoard of, a herd of or what?  - I think they licked mineral water here.

Cliff Booker's picture

Cliff Booker

Mon, 08/02/2010 - 2:08pm
Hoy wrote:

Skulski wrote:

Here, the city is very poor for butterflies and moths, but the nearby mountains are much, much better.  We often see small gatherings of similar looking blue butterflies (I'm not up on Lepidoptera IDs) in the mountains - sadly, my photographic abilities aren't up to getting good pictures, like yours!  Sometimes, we see them dancing around over and apparently feeding on charcoal from old bonfires, horse dung, and damp spots along the trail - getting some kind of nutrients or minerals, I suppose.

What do you call a gathering of butterflies? A school of, a hoard of, a herd of or what?  - I think they licked mineral water here.

A flutter?  :D