These little fellas were so hard to get close to. Every so often one will give up for a while and let you take a shot.

We're into the butterfly section of this journey. Could be here for a while!

Little things make all the difference. We spent nearly two hours today just dottering about a patch of marigolds at a temple. Didn't walk far at all, just waited for butterflies to drop by and offer a shot.

Photography is a marvellous way to avoid exercise :)

I just can't express how much I love those 60s and 70s designs on some of these critters. Pure art. I couldn't paint something beautiful if I tried.

9/x

#Mothstodon #སྤྱན་སྡེབ་སྦྱིས་མཆོད་རྟེན། #Bhutan #Chendebji #Photography #Lumix #FlutterByes #Himalayas #Butterflies #NotButterflies #MothsToTheLight #NatureIsArt

A hint of yellow in the colour range too. I can dig it.

8/x

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None of these guys were doing a great job of hiding I might add. Most were just clinging to grooves in the side of the chorten. Many were on their last legs too, barely able to fly.

A few had camouflage more suited to the forest than a white washed temple.

7/x

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I was fascinated by this glimpse into the wild moths of Bhutan. Makes you wonder what else is hiding out there in the forests? You just need the right triggers to bring them "into the light".

I found one fluffy white moth with metallic teal spots. In the right light, the blue/green hues shine back at the lens.

6/x

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There was more than months too. Beetles were drawn in by the light, big ones! Many of these were still alive. One in particular was so feisty, even flipped upside-down.

I righted him up and he tried to murder me. Nature is dangerous people!

5/x

#Beetles #སྤྱན་སྡེབ་སྦྱིས་མཆོད་རྟེན། #Bhutan #Chendebji #Photography #Lumix #FlutterByes #Himalayas #Butterflies #NotButterflies #MothsToTheLight

I can tell you the Chendebji is covered in white lime. The stupa and shorten at very very white.

But in recent times they repainted and added some super bright flood lights. When I stepped closer to these, I found literally thousands of dead moths.

Not to say they wouldn't have died somewhere in the forest anyway, but it seemed very sad.

4/x

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The sheer variety of moths in one tiny little space was amazing. But why?

I did notice that a lot of them were white. And one particular species far outnumbered the others. The doorway was awash with moths.

I know next to nothing about moths myself. I've only just tuned my brain into being more aware of butterflies.

3/x

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Not just a few moths. But thousands and thousands of moths.

When I first stepped through the archway I noticed a few moths on the timber, then I noticed a few more. And the more I looked, the more I noticed.

I started taking photos. I was in a rush and a little confused. Not much art to my snaps. I just kept taking shots.

2/x

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At first I thought they only liked yellow flowers but then... plot twist!

Copper on purple. Bhutan style.

I really wish I didn't have to make a living and instead could just wander the Himalayas looking for meadows where butterflies enjoy the morning light.

Azure Sapphire here, male.

What an amazing day! It was coolish and very damp this morning in Trongsa. I spotted one of these fellas just posing, next to the female. Then saw another. And as the morning progressed I realised they were everywhere :)

I was too slow to capture the female. They flitter off quickly. But the boys just hang about and show off their colours.

Azure Sapphire
(Heliophorus moorei)

Seconds later I got a cheeky glimpse of a Heliophorus (Sapphire).

I feel I've wasted my life when instead I could be sitting in a cow paddock at 2900m looking for little flappy blues.