Butterflies at the Natural History Museum (part 2)

One of the special exhibits at the Natural History Museum was the Pavilion of Wings. Neat-o! Who doesn't like butterflies?

It reminded me of a book that I heard about that I've wanted to check out - The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists by Peter Laufer... hopefully these butterflies weren't rare and endangered.

After we had walked through the museum, we headed to the traveling exhibit.

You walk into basically a large garden covered with a wire mesh so no wayward butterflies can escape. They're kind of trapped inside with us. A few helplessly tried to beat against the enclosure, but no such luck.

I was just excited at the opportunity to get some photography practice in.

Unlike the turtles, however, these little buggers are quick. When they're not flying around, they're fluttering their wings. I spent most of my time in the cage crouching in the dirt, squinting at the sun, and wiping sweat off my viewfinder. Awesome.

But the butterflies were so pretty. It was worth it. :)

Helpful signs allowed visitors to categorize the butterflies.

Like this is a Giant Swallowtail.

Not sure what this is. Maybe a Buckeye?

Zebra Longwing. Easy.

Um, no effing idea. Looks sort of like a Mourning Cloak.

Or is this the Mourning Cloak?

A Gulf Fritillary. This is like Pokemon!

A monarch. Easy. I didn't even need the board for that one. lol.

I wasn't the only amateur photographer walking around.

Um, kid?