Brian - it's not right on topic but there's an existing thread here that discusses the FZ200 and bridge cameras in general http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7825&hilit=fz200 It has quite a few photos - so you can see the type and quality of shots that you can expect to...

A lovely day in Notts. yesterday - which granted me the chance to see the fourth species in my garden so far this year...

February 9th - Small Tortoiseshell
March 6th - Brimstone, Red Admiral
March 22nd - Comma

Anyone for spiders? Generally I'm OK with the eight-legged freaks providing they a) are not bigger than a hand span b) are not of the jumping and/or spitting variety c) do not feature the word widow in their common name which unfortunately rules out about 95% of the species in Florida :wink: Crab-li...

Yep, you're right Nick. Barbados is small, flat and geographically-isolated. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a destination solely for butterfly-spotting. Chuck in a bit of cricket, some scuba-diving, a modicum of lazing on the beach and an awful lot of drinking rum and it works out just great t...

I'm conscious that this diary is starting to sound like a bit of an advert for the Florida Tourist Board - so allow me to change the location for a bit... ...here's a few butterflies of Barbados :D Violet-banded Skipper (Nyctelius nyctelius).jpg Hanno Blue (Hemiargus hanno) (2).jpg Fiery Skipper (Hy...

Cheers Nick - you could try the carrot of theme parks, attractions and beaches for your son to achieve good exam results... but should he do poorly he gets the stick of being dragged around some of Florida's swampy hammocks, slash-pine forests and palmetto scrub with you as a punishment! :D Off-topi...

Hi Nick - glad to have whet your appetite. :) Here's a few snippets of information that may be of some use to you. - July is a good month to see butterflies in Florida - 4th July is when NABA (the US equivalent of Butterfly Conservation) does it's annual counts. Big counts are centred in Gainesville...

Just a couple left to polish off this run-through of species. One couldn't be more familiar and the other I can only guess at the exact species. Red Admiral and Painted Lady are the two British native species that also occur in Florida (dis-counting the odd stray Monarch we get) - both of which are,...

Thanks David :) I have had a good time. Too good in certain ways - my fondness for a tropical cocktail (or seven) means that there is hardly ever any early morning expeditions. And, of course, the sun goes down very early in winter even in Florida (around 4.45pm in late November) meaning I'm often j...

Some dodgy photos amongst this batch but at least it brings me up to a round fifty species. 47. 20211 48. 20212 49. 20213 50. 20214 47. Horace's Duskywing - Erynnis horatius - Fairchild Botanical Gardens, Coral Gables, Florida - 22nd November, 2010 48. Variegated Fritillary - Euptoieta claudia - Oke...

Nearing the end. Two skippers and two crescents. 43. 20203 44. 20204 45. 20205 46. 20206 43. Brazilian Skipper - Calpodes ethlius - Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida - 16th November, 2013 44. Sachem - Atalopedes campestris - Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida - 14th November, 20...

Four more of the larger, more tropical species. 39. 20198 40. 20199 41. 20200 42. 20201 39. Gulf Fritillary - Agraulis vanillae - Secret Woods Regional Park, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - 15th November, 2013 40. Soldier - Danaus eresimus - Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida - 16th November, 2013...

Some blues and hairstreaks. The Mallow Scrub-hairstreak is a terrible photo. It's also one of the very first shots of a butterfly I ever took in Florida. Arrived at motel in the dark. Got up early the next morning and went to a local cafe for breakfast. Walked back past a vacant lot which was teemin...

Sulphurs and whites. 32. 20186 33. 20187 34. 20188 35. 20189 32. Orange-barred Sulphur - Phoebis philea - Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida - 17th November, 2013 33. Great Southern White - Ascia monuste - Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida - 17th November, 2013 34. Barred Yellow - Eurem...

Some more skippers... 25. 20178 26. 20179 27. 20180 28. 20181 25. Ocala Skipper - Panoquina panquin - Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida - 14th November, 2014 26. Mangrove Skipper - Phocides pigmalion - J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida - 20...

Thanks Guy :) It occurs to me that it might have been more useful if I'd organised these posts by location. That way I could've given an overview of the best sites I've found to visit - their size, habitat(s), location and condition - and some information on what species people might expect to see t...

Some skippers. Often the hardest to identify as there are over 50 species that occur in Florida - though many are spring to autumn species that only inhabit the more northerly temperate regions of the Panhandle and north-central Florida... which makes it a bit easier for winter-sun-loving softies li...

Burning the midnight oil, waiting for the cricket to start. Another batch... 13. 20148 14. 20149 15. 20150 16. 20151 13. Tropical Checkered-skipper - Pyrgus oileus - Okeeheelee Park, West Palm Beach, Florida - 15th November, 2014 14. Statira Sulphur - Phoebis statira - Secret Woods Regional Park, Ft...

Ploughing onwards... once I've sorted these I should be able to add a few pics to the 'Favourite shots of 2014' UK species threads. 9. 20142 10. 20143 11. 20144 12. 20145 9. Zebra - Heliconius charitonius - Naples Botanical Garden, Naples, Florida - 20th November, 2014 10. Whirlabout - Polites vibex...

Thanks all - it's nice to contributing again :) Here's a few more while I'm still feeling with a vim... 5. 20119 6. 20120 7. 20121 8. 20122 5. Dorantes Longtail - Urbanus dorantes - Pine Island Ridge area at Tree Tops Regional Park, Davie, Florida - 17th November, 2014 6. Atala - Eumaeus atala - Oke...