The Tangentine butterfly

Identification - Graphium sarpedon luctatius - common bluebottle.

It may be called common and I do see this butterfly just about daily, BUT, it is a nightmare to photograph. It is so difficult to approach, I don't even bother anymore. I have photographed it on four previous occasions and only blipped one of them and even that really wasn't up to blipping standards.

It was like the blip monster knew I wanted something special for today. I saw her disappear behind a bush and didn't re-appear, which meant that she had landed. I poked my way through the bush and there she was, all spread out and displayed almost to perfection. I think that this is the most stunning of all the butterflies that I see and it was a joy to finally get a good image.

As for yesterday's pop quiz - which species/family have I blipped the most - 12 of you had a go and selected 4 subjects: bees, butterflies, dragons and spiders.

Bees - 11th place with 18 blips
Spiders - 4th place with 63 blips
Dragons - 3rd place with 73 blips
Butterflies - 2nd place with 87 blips - well done Kas18, the only one who guessed.

But, in first place - with 99 blips - homo sapiens. Yes, I have blipped more people shots than any other species. Thanks for taking part, hope you don't feel cheated.

Tangentine left the blip fold yesterday, after achieving her 100 blip target. Rarely does a new blipper have such a profound effect on the blip community. With her artistry and depth of feeling, she dazzled us all.

If Blip is about recording your life, then you should go and flick through Tangentine's journal, where she poured out her daily trials and tribulations in such imaginative images for all to see. If Blip is about quality photography then again, you should take a look through and 'GOSH' at the skill, dedication in effort, novelty, imagination and artistry.

Hoping you make it back to blip one day and wishing you and all your family all the best for the future - this beautiful butterfly is for you :)

Dave