nichepoetryandprose

On our trip to Ontario, I did a little chasing of butterflies.  I was trying for a photo so I could identifyanother butterfly for my ‘life list’.  So far I have collected two:  ‘Monarch’ and ‘Viceroy’!

The field I focussed on had a lively population of yellow butterflies, and I thought it would be easy to catch one in a photograph.  I was wrong!

If I stood still and waited for them to come to me, they would eventually flutter nearby but be gone by the time I had the camera in focus.  If I chased after them… well that was just silly.

Eventually I did capture an image as one butterfly settled for a second on the purple head of a Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.).

Once I had my photo, I could identify the new member of my ‘collection’ – a Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice).  Its distinguishing characteristics are a double spot on the underside of the hindwing and a submarginal row of dark spots.  According to my source, the Clouded Sulphur is similar to the Pink-edged Sulphur (Colias interior) but the Pink-edged Sulphurhas a single spot on the underwing and no row of dark spots.

The experience of chasing this butterfly reminded me of a study I used to play on the piano when I was younger.  The piece was by Chopin, the well-named ‘Butterfly Etude’.  It was a hard piece (although I was playing an ‘easy’ version), made up of  sets of of detached and un-detached octaves, played in rapid staccato.  At the time I thought of it as just another study in agony, but now I realise how aptly it represents the inelegant, bouncy flight of the butterfly!  

étude opus 25, no. 9 – Chopin

~

wrist staccato

octave stretches

disarticulated

sprite

~ 

wings a-flutter

closed and open

cloud to clover

bouncy bright

~

flirt and quiver

tip and stumble

clouded sulphur

butterflight

~

© Jane Tims    2011