Papilio machaon on my dahlias

My dahlias are still alive, thanks to this warm october.

And last saturday they gave hospitality to a beautiful creature: a papilio machaon!

 

 

Isn't it amazing?

I love it!

Butterflies are one of my naturalistic passions and I started a photographic collection of italian butterflies (a sort of) some years ago.

You can find it (summed up) in this flickr set.

 

Taking photos of these lovely creatures isn't simple, because they constantly move here and there, but if you are patient you can get good images like this.

Last saturday weather was cloudy and windy, so taking these photos has been very difficult and they are not perfect (so different from the beautiful photos by Marco!).
But I'm happy the same. I did my best with my little and old camera :)

 

 

Papilion machaon is one of my favourite butterflies.

I'm quite sure it has been voted as the most beautiful european butterfly some years ago (but can't find the source of this info, sorry!) and images of machaons often are on european postage stamps (like this one from Poland).

The caterpillar looks great, too!

 

 

I haven't photographed this butterfly before last saturday and I'm so happy it is in my collection now! :)

Simple joys are the best!

 

 

A little note: Machaon is also the name of a greek mythologic character.

His brother is Podalirius: this is the name of another butterfly, similar to machaon but with a different shape and less bright colors, I photographed some summers ago in my parents' garden (not a good photo).

 

Thank you, Mother Nature, for all this beauty!