Thank you for all your comments, David, Buggy, Goldie, Chris and Trevor.
Cold returned today, with the snowline hovering around my altitude. I had an unexpected afternoon free, so Minnie and I headed off to tropical climes in the afternoon, in the shape of the Papiliorama. I always enjoy spending an hour or two with exotic butterflies in a warm, humid environment! It's always different, with different behaviour to watch and different butterflies to see.
The milkweed corner was full of monarch caterpillars today, and several monarchs were flying around. This species breeds freely in the Papiliorama. The larvae are the original two-headed monster:
Other species that breed freely include
Papilio thoas,
Morpho peleides,
Danaus chrysippus and various
Caligo species (owl butterflies). This is a
Caligo caterpillar enjoying the bananas (he's on the leaf, bottom right):
Today, just two species of
Morpho were flying around -
peleides and
polyphemus:
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/papiliorama/peleidespapiliorama20may2015a.jpg)
(
peleides)
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/papiliorama/polyphemuspapiliorama20may2015a.jpg)
(
polyphemus)
I think
Hypolimnas bolina must also breed freely, as it is always present and engaging in reproductive behaviour. Today I watched a contest between a worn male and a younger, fresher male for a rather fine female. The young one won - and in the moment of coupling the pair suddenly dropped from sight deep into the vegetation.
![Image](http://www.guypadfield.com/papiliorama/bolinapapiliorama20may2015a.jpg)
(the female is the higher one on the right - the worn male, having lost at this point, is on the left)
This is
Doleschallia bisaltide:
Papilio polytes:
And one of the ubiquitous
Kallima species (
inachus or
paralekta):
This is
Junonia iphita, one of my favourite butterflies because of memories of the first time I saw one, in the Chamundi Hills, near a great soapstone statue of Śiva's bull:
Hebomoia glaucippe:
Heliconius ismenius:
I've never seen this before, but there was a fruit bat hanging in a corner near the bananas, all wrapped up in himself:
I took that picture without flash as it seemed to be opening its eyes a little. I don't like seeing mammals in captivity, but as prisons go this is quite a luxurious one. Under Swiss law it is illegal to keep just one of a social animal in captivity so there must have been others there.
A more familiar resident is the red-crested turaco:
As always, I could go on and on, so I'll stop! Back to the cold ...
Guy