10.08.2017 - By Ann Green in Bougainville
The Bougainville Blue Butterfly - found in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville - is rare and considered to be amongst the 10 most beautiful butterflies in the world.
Imagine our delight, when visiting a village recently, we saw not one but three beautiful Bougainville Blues feeding on the nectar of some flowers in a village garden. What a treat.
And then - just a week later - we were out, on the now uninhabited island of Arovo. After having had a swim and snorkel in the warm, clear sea water and a picnic on the beach, we took a walk along a stretch of white tropical sand and came across a tree of butterflies. Yes, a large tree swarming with butterflies.
They were not Bougainville Blues, but they were large beautiful brown butterflies and there were hundreds upon hundreds of them. The tree and the sand under the tree, was alive with these butterflies. Some were having community meetings and many, many more, were just fluttering through the branches of the tree creating an absolutely fascinating tabloid of beauty and activity. Amazing!
Monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico and back every year to avoid the cold weather of Canada. Maybe the Arovo Island butterflies were having their Summer escape from colder climes
We felt very fortunate to have had two wonderful, yet very different, butterfly sightings. I just wish butterflies were easier to photograph – they are not good at remaining still.