Tag Archives: rare butterfly

Cyaniris Antiochena, a Tiny Blue Butterfly, Flew into Wildflowers on a Primitive Trail

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Filed under Blues, Golan, Israel

Cyaniris antiochena butterfly photographed by Jeffrey Zablow at Northernmost Golan, Israel

How exciting is it to find a rare HolyLand (Israel) butterfly? Answer: Very. How much more exciting is it to find such a rare butterfly Without the aid of a guide? Answer: Crazy much more exciting! Have you scoured remote. distant and rarely visited locales?

This is such. I was on a 5 day trip up to the north of Israel, to the uppermost Golan region, north of Capernum. Remember the fascination of Capernum when you were in Sunday school? The only folks I saw those days were soldiers, that’s how remote it was. The borders with Syria and Jordan were about a 30-minute drive, and a kid from Brooklyn  never loses sight of that.

This tiny blue butterfly, Cyaniris Antiochena flew in to wildflowers on the primitive trail I was working, and I of course, shot away. Here’s the best of those exposures. Rare tiny blues in wild, wild northern Israel.

I would’ve loved to have been there with you, but OK.

Jeff

Sighting a Rare Clytie Ministreak Butterfly!

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Filed under Hairstreak, National Butterfly Center, Mission, TX

Clyitie ministreak butterfly (3) photographed by Jeff Zablow at the National Butterfly Center, Mission, TX

Want to see a Clytie Ministreak butterfly? If you lived where I live, Macon, Georgia, you’d have to travel those same 1,300 miles or so, to southern Texas, and then hope (pray?) that this “U-C” (Glassberg – Uncommon to Common) butterfly was about when you arrived in Mission, Texas.

I was fortunate to have travelled with Nancy and John from Atlanta’s International Airport to San Antonio, and then was driven those 4 hours to Alamo, Texas. That week, December’s Christmas week, we saw many dozens of species that I’d never seen before. Some rare species made their appearance just to please me, and for that I’m Thankful.

I’ve seen Kirk Douglas, President Eisenhower’s back of his head, Diana Ross, Mike Tyson and some more, to which List I add, Clytie Ministreak butterfly, at the National Butterfly Center’s Perennial Gardens, Mission, Texas.

Jeff

Photographing a Rare Aricia Agestis Butterfly in the Israeli HolyLand

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Filed under Blues, Upper Galilee, Israel

Aricea Aegestis butterfly  Nahal Dishon National Park, photographed by Jeff Zablow at Upper Galilee, Israel

There I was in the Nahal Dishon Park in the Upper Galilee, the HolyLand (Israel). I was there to find and photograph ‘Protected’ Israeli butterflies. It’s never enough for me to just catch a fleeting glimpse of a blurred wing, or mediocre view. I strive to capture more, detail, beauty, unique looks.

I did that here, to my own demanding satisfaction,. Those trailing orangish-red blazes on the 4 wing margins please me. Oft times, my Macro- approach spooks the butterfly, and I either get nothing or I score unsatisfying images. This one? I’m viewing Dubi Benyamini’s field guide, and I’m happy to compare this shot with the images I see. Good. Very good. A rare butterfly, seen and acceptably photographed. The photographer? . . . . Me!

Jeff

Rare Golan Butterfly

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Filed under Golan, Israel, Pararge Aegeria

Pararae Aegeria butterfly photographed by Jeff Zablow in Northern Golan, 3/20/12

Serendipity! Those times when you set out to find a rare HolyLand butterfly in the Golan region of the HolyLand, Israel . . . and you do, you find one! Pararge Aegeria. The reckoning of what you are seeing, knowing that this butterfly is endangered and its existence is fragile, very much thrills me.

Know that I could not control the locale that P. aegeria flies in, here the shaded bed of a nearly dried creek.

I live in the U.S.A. and know that Israelis may have seen this rare Golan region butterfly, they having to travel the 2+ hours from the middle of Israel or the 3+ hours from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. Me? I had to travel the 7,000 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Seeing P. aegeria for me? Exhilarating.

Jeff

Parnassian Butterfly East of the Mississippi?

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Filed under Hanita, Israel, Parnassian

Allancastria Cerisyis butterfly (Protected), photographed by Jeff Zablow in Hanita, Israel

Irony that. I flew 7,000 miles, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Israel to see my first Parnassian butterflies. The continental USA has 2 species of these wondrous beauties, the Phoebus Parnassian and the Clodius Parnassian, as few as some 2,000 or so miles from Pittsburgh. Finding the HolyLand Parnassians turned out to be a tad easier, for Israel is a tiny little country, the western USA is enormous, and I would not have a clue as to where to search.

That said, you may be a bit surprised that America does not have Parnassians butterflies, closely related to our swallowtail butterflies, east of the Mississippi River. That may well have something to do with the parnassian’s preference for higher elevations.

This Allancastria cerisyi was a learning experience for me. I wanted to find them, and find them I did. They are rare, protected butterflies. The learning curve for me was, determine which rare butterfly you want to shoot, pinpoint the limited range (in this case, a narrow strip of Mediterranean shoreline at Israel’s northwestern corner), learn what you can about your objective, and go there. I rented a room in a nearby SPNI (Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel) field house, and started out that morning early, very, very early. Several fruitless stops later, I noticed a nature park on the outskirts of the little Moshav (village) of Hanita. I parked, suited up for my field work, and within minutes . . . I found them, some nectaring and some still stationary, warming themselves in the morning sun. Bingo!

This play of yellow, black, red and yes, blue tickles my fancy. Better yet they are rare, but not rare once you time it right, and you located them in their certain habitat.

I cannot expect to ever forget that morning. Mission accomplished, mission electrifying.

Jeff