Raising butterflies provides a long lasting entertainment to both adults and kids. However, there is a particular highlight. The moment when a fresh butterfly has hatched, dried its wings and is ready to be released.
Sometimes you have plenty of time to take decent photos of the new adult butterflies. Sometimes, it will just take seconds and the butterfly flatters away. Nevertheless, it’s a rewarding moment. All the care-taking pays back with the feeling of having achieved something.
Here’s some photos of releasing European Peacocks (Inachis io) and Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta). The European Peacocks came with an additional challenge. They tend to hatch early in the morning (in my case the Red Admirals hatched around noon). With plain shadow in our garden, and a sleepy daughter it was pretty tricky to get some footage.
