Insects Photo Click 49: Queen Victoria’s Birdwing (2).

Ornithoptera victoriae Birdwing butterflies are a group of butterflies, belonging to the family Papilionidae, which also includes swallowtails. They are very large, beautiful species, including the largest butterfly in the world, Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, (Ornithoptera alexandrae). Females belonging to this species may reach a wingspan of upto 28cm. Female Birdwing butterflies tend to be larger than the...

Insects Photo Click 45: Brown Hairstreak.

Thecla betulae The Brown Hairstreak is distributed in most of the Palearctic. There are six recognized subspecies. It prefers habitats such as hedges, scrub, and wood edges with large prominent trees. It is a very peculiar butterfly, as it spends most of the time high in the tree canopy, especially at the tops of prime...

Insects Photo Click 4: African Monarch

Danaus chrysippus The African Monarch also called, Plain Tiger and African Queen, is a widespread species found in Asia, Australia and Africa. It is a regular migrant to Southern Europe, including the Maltese Islands, and is doing so, in ever increasing numbers. Like many of the species in this subfamily, Danainae, the caterpillars feed on...

Insects Photo Click 24: Red Helen.

Papilio helenus The Red Helen is a large Swallowtail Butterfly found in damp forests of southern India, Sri Lanka and parts of southeast Asia. It is commonly met with flying along paths in damp forests, such as the ones depicted in this post, which I photographed in Sri Lanka. They flap their wings with deep...

Insects Photo Click 12: Red- veined Darter.

Sympetrum fonscolombii The Red-veined Darter is a common and widespread dragonfly. It can be found in central and southern Europe including most Mediterranean islands, North Africa, the Middle East, Mongolia, south-western Asia, including the Indian Subcontinent, the Indian Ocean Islands and Sri Lanka. In Europe it is resident in the south of its range, but...

Insects Photo Click 47: Blue Hawker.

Aeshna cyanea The Blue Hawker is one of the most common and most widespread dragonflies in Europe. It is distributed in the West Palearctic and covers a large part of Europe up to Scotland and southern Scandinavia in the North, down south to parts of Italy and the northern Balkans, west up to Ireland and...

Insects Photo Click 10: Hummingbird Hawk- moth.

Macroglossum stellatarum The hummingbird Hawk-moth is a very strong and fast flier. It is distributed throughout the northern, Old World from Portugal to Japan, but it breeds mainly in warmer climates. In some countries in can produce three and even four broods in a year. In flight, especially as they hover and extract their very long proboscis...

Insects Photo Click 40: Oleander Hawkmoth.

Daphnis nerii With a wingspan of up to 12cm, the Oleander Hawkmoth is a large, truly beautiful, sphingidae. It has a unique blend of colours and patterns. It is distributed in large parts of Africa, Asia, various parts of southern and eastern Europe, and Turkey. It is a migratory species and sometimes reaches western Europe,...

Insects Photo Click 54: Long Skimmer (2).

Orthetrum trinacria The Long Skimmer is a powerful, aggressive and fast flying dragonfly. It is often very weary and flies off from a perch, as fast as it had landed. It’s proportionately long abdomen, is typical and hence it’s name. The Long Skimmer is a common dragonfly distributed in tropical Africa and southern Africa including...

Insects Photo Click 53: Oblong- spotted Birdwing.

Troides oblongomaculatus The Oblong- spotted Birdwing is distributed in Indonesia and New Guinea. It is the only Troides species found as far east as New Guinea. It is a relatively common species with nine recognized subspecies. The ones in the photos were photographed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea so they belong to the subspecies...