Butterflies in the Glass House

...at RHS Wisley. Every year from mid January to mid March, RHS Wisley has butterflies imported from the Philippines, Africa, Costa Rica, Belize and El Salvador in their glass house. The butterflies are imported as pupa and they hatch here, so over the two month period they have different species hatching all the time.

It was very hot and humid in there so it took about 5 minutes for my camera lens to stop fogging up - it was quite busy but one has plenty of time to see the butterflies and take photos. I took my tripod but the butterflies move so quickly that one has no time to set up a shot on a tripod. I had planned to go today as it was beautifully sunny and I knew the light would be good in there for hand held photos.

This is a Blue Morpho - their wingspan can be between 75 and 200mm, they are huge! The inside of their wings is a beautiful iridescent blue colour. I have added extras of a Tree Nymph, a Malachite, and I am not sure what the last one is.

It was amazing to see them and I will go back before it closes.