2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- My #1 Photo of 2013!

With this post we finally arrive at my top image of 2013! While many of you probably expected my top image of the year to be something from my African safari, this image was by far my most "viral" image of the year. From the moment I posted it, it received lots of attention as far as total views, shares on Facebook, as well as Retweets and Favorites on Twitter. Without a doubt, it was THE favorite of the Blue Lion Pride during 2013!

If you missed earlier posting in the series just click on them below! 

PART 1   ~   PART 2   ~   PART 3   ~   PART 4   ~   PART 5

#1 - Malay Lacewing Butterfly ~
Texas Discovery Gardens  Dallas, TX

I took this image last spring at the fabulous Texas Discovery Gardens (TDG) in Dallas. It is a male Malay Lacewing butterfly. This species is found in tropical Asia - most commonly in Indonesia. The beauty of this amazing species speaks for itself and I know I go back to the TDG regularly in hopes of seeing this species as well as other closely related allies. Butterfly houses are a wonderful resource for nature photographers  as they usually possess licences to host exotic species of butterflies and moths that  most of us would never have a chance to observe due to both geography and timing. The TDG has the ability to host hundreds of different species at different times of the year depending up on supplier availability. As such, every time I go to visit I get a different "show" of species! In addition, butterfly houses need to have a collection of nectar producing flowers for the adult butterflies to feed upon. This benefits nature photographers because we then get to see and shoot some beautifully exotic flowers. If you've never been to a butterfly house ( or even if it's been a while) go ahead and look up your local one and spend a few hours there - it should be a special time to savor the intricacies of Mother Nature!  

If you are interested in more details about the Malay Lacewing, this post from the Butterflies of Singapore is a great resource! 

If you'd like to purchase this image for yourself or as a gift, please click the PURCHASE LINK to order your preferred size. As a reader of the Blue Lion Blog - I am offering a 20% discount on any purchase you make after reading this -- just enter the code BLOGREADER when prompted during your checkout! 

Thanks for visiting the Blue Lion Blog. Once again I appreciate your support! Here's to a fabulous 2014!

Nature's Rock Candy!

As I was going through my images from earlier this summer from the butterfly garden at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas, I noticed something I missed before. Initially I liked this image of a Tiger Longwing butterfly because of how it was perched "stilt legged" on this leaf.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed the proboscis looked "funny" and saw it was covered in sugar crystals! Given that this species of butterfly likes passion vines with deep, tubular flowers, it seems sensible that the proboscis would get a bit of sugar on it. In this case the nectar dried and the sugar crystals formed - in essence unintended rock candy!

A Bevy of Beautiful Butterflies!

Yesterday I had the pleasure to spend several hours visiting the Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park in Dallas. I am ashamed to say after all my years in Dallas, I had never visited the TDG. They have the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House which is a 2 story glass enclosed structure that allows you to see butterflies both on ground level and up at canopy level. They receive new shipments of butterflies daily, so there is a constantly changing diversity of butterflies and moths there. Below are a few of my favorite images from yesterday. I can tell I'll be visiting there often in the future!

Remember you can click on any of the images to see them in their original galleries!

Feel free to visit the good folks who share at Camera Critters and Macro Monday!

Orange Banded Butterfly Portrait

Orange Banded Butterfly

Doris Longwing Butterfly

Doris Longwing Butterfly Peeking over a leaf. (Look closely at the eyes!)

Julia Longwing Butterfly