Rare Visit

Red Admiral, Vanessa gonerilla gonerilla, endemic to New Zealand. It is larger than the more common yellow admiral.

While making my lunch I was surprised to see a flutter in one of the big Viburnum bushes. It is still winter after all. I was even more surprised to find it was a red admiral, which I can recall seeing in my garden only twice before. It was very flighty, and I tracked it for about fifteen minutes as it fluttered about the bush sipping nectar. Finally it settled on the top of the 2.5 metre bush and I had the chance to photograph it with its wings open.

This is not a well detailed macro as I could not get close to the butterfly, but I love the colours. The wings are rather tattered. Perhaps it has hibernated over the winter.