Blue Monday: Doris Longwing (4 Photos)
The Doris Longwing (Heliconiini Laparus doris) is a new butterfly to the 2016 Butterflies In The Glasshouse event at RHS Wisley Gardens. The Doris has striking, iridescent patches of blue on the upperside of the hindwing. The underside shows patches and stripes of red as do many other longwings, they can sometimes be hard to tell apart! They’re graceful, dainty and beautiful to watch in flight, or sunning themselves and feeding. The annual event is on now until March 6th. If you are planning to visit at the weekend, or during school half-term, you would be wise to book yourselves a time slot as the glasshouse gets very busy and queues can grow quickly! I hope that my photos of these wonderful creatures entice you to visit and enjoy the magic for yourselves. It’s guaranteed to lift your spirits and banish any Winter blues!
Linked to Weekly Photo Challenge: Optimistic
And Smiling Sally’s Blue Monday
Taking One Day At A Time 
Beautiful and brilliant again Sarah 😊
Thanks Mark 🙂 The longwing are so photogenic!! Hoping to go again on Thursday as it’s forecast to be sunny which encourages them to fly 🙂
Hi Sarah,
How unique! Thanks for playing today.
Have a Beautiful Blue Monday!
My pleasure Sally 🙂 They’re quite stunning and I was thrilled that there was a new blue butterfly to share with you this year!
I am very happy seeing the butterflies on your site, much more space than in the glasshouse! And your photos are stunning as always.
Hahaha, thanks Jude 😀 Yes, it’s probably not as humid in front of your screen too 😉 It’s been busy even on weekdays and I’m getting nervous about the annual half-term melee! The one nice thing about being able to go in the week is that even though it’s busy in there, there’s almost a sense of camaraderie amongst visitors. People alert others when they spot a new one or a beautiful pose, there’s time to really engage with the kids and get them excited about what they’re seeing AND there’s enough room for me to go in with my wheelchair so I don’t go hurting myself! I’m going to volunteer for a few hours on the 10th with Butterfly Conservation UK on their stand in the glasshouse. They’re not doing half-term this year as it was too chaotic before. Looking forward to imparting my knowledge and sharing my passion for our native species 😀
Sounds fun, I’m sure you will enjoy it. On the 10th we complete on the house purchase! Happy Day!
Oh brilliant 😀 A happy day indeed!!
Lovely images!
Thanks so much Rich 🙂 They’re such a delightful subject!
Such stunning images of this beautiful butterfly.
Thanks Gemma 🙂 I can’t help loving the longwings, so elegant!
Wow – what a beauty, Sarah. The last image has wonderful light and composition.
Thanks Jane 🙂 The composition of the last one is almost counterintuitive but I really liked giving the butterfly space.
Goregous, as usual.
Thank you so much 🙂 Plenty more tropical butterflies to come over the next month!
Just beautiful, so intimate and delicate…but bursting with vibrant colour…perfect antidote to yet another rain filled day!
Thanks Seonaid 🙂 I was watching Winterwatch on the BBC earlier and the swings in temperature up in the Cairngorms have been extraordinary!! So much snow and ice melt adding to rain water was really turning the lazy little rivers into raging whitewater. Rain here again tomorrow 😦
Stunning shots
Thanks Raewyn 🙂 It’s a lovely little butterfly to photograph!
Beautiful shock of blue
They’re quite eye-catching aren’t they?
These photos are so lovely. You’re very talented.
Thank you so much! That’s such a lovely comment 🙂 I just love nature and wildlife. It’s a joy to be able to share my passion through art 😀
Where do you find all these wonderful butterflys?
Haha, thank you! I have a wonderful place called RHS Wisley Gardens close to where I live and every winter, between early January and early March, they hold an event called Butterflies in The Glasshouse. They have a large glasshouse with temperate and tropical zones so the butterflies are released into the tropical area. It’s a wonderful event and being a bit obsessed with butterflies I do spend a lot of time there. I photograph our own native species during the warmer months and when we holiday in Greece every year I also photograph the species there. I’ve always had a passion for butterflies and do what I can to help with conservation in our area.