The Holly And The Ivy ....

.... are favourites of the larvae of the holly blue butterfly. Something that I've noticed but not read about, is that when these butterflies are resting with their wings closed on evergreen leaves such as holly and ivy they are almost invisible. The way their light catches their wings mirrors the way it reflects off the glossy evergreens.

This is a female that I photographed this morning. I was interested to read that the holly blue was chosen as the national butterfly of Finland last year to celebrate one hundred years of independence. This got me thinking about Finlandia, a favourite piece of my father's. He is on my mind as it is the anniversary of his death soon. I was talking about him this evening to my granddaughter as I drove her to help with the autistic youngsters. I listened to this earlier and watched the accompanying video. It's well worth a watch as the wildlife images are wonderful and amusing at times. I love the ducks fledging, particularly the last that seems to get courage from snatching a passing fly. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5zg_af9b8c