I was wandering around in the garden – after fiddling with some focus setting on the Nikon D3000 – collecting some images while thinking I would entitle my post ‘a half hour in my garden’, when I noticed a tawny-brown butterfly floating by.

lesser wanderer butterfly

a tattered lesser wanderer

I looked it up, later, on Google, and find it is a different species to the Monarch butterfly and a little smaller. Interestingly, the Monarch first turned up in Australia after three cyclones in 1870, when they came across from some Pacific islands. Others say they might have visited earlier, but could not survive until Europeans introduced the right food plants.

After being gobsmacked by the polka dots while taking the photos, I was even more excited to see the butterfly’s tongue after I had uploaded to the laptop. The wanderer likes plants with a milky sap, absorbing toxins which makes them unpalatable as prey. So, now my abundant and overgrown milk thistles are a boon.

I was a bit over-awed after seeing this beautiful butterfly through my viewer. I felt truly blessed. Doubly so, after seeing the photos. I will leave the Nikon settings alone – for now.

Thanks for looking. Do have a good day!  🙂