You think it’s easy? It’s fun, exciting, and exhilarating, but I can’t say it’s easy to photograph Heliconian butterflies.

I first met a Zebra Heliconian in 2016 in Kathleen, Georgia. I actually enjoyed at least a dozen of them that day. It was an easy to remember double-header, for I met my Zebras and then I stepped and stayed too long on a concealed fire ant hill!

In December 2017, during that wondrous last week, I ogled my first (how many get a chance to see a second?) Erato Heliconian butterfly in the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas near the border wall. I got some fair to better images of Erato.

That same December ’17 week, John pointed to a spot in a mass of thick growth, some 14 or so feet away. It was Julia! a Julia Heliconian butterfly. He sure was “bright satiny orange” and had the Texas Julia look (no black on the upper wing surface). He remained on that leaf for at least 10 minutes. I got no closer, but I saw and if you indulge me, copped my first image of this Heliconian, Julia.

Lots of times you get what you can get.

Jeff