We are back at the foot of the Andes, in our small farm in Salta where we will spend a couple of months. It is warm and humid and, although there are numerous creatures, at the moment the butterflies rule!

I have already described a few in an earlier post[1] but I need to do them justice so I will present you with a few more observations as we find them. Some of them exist in abundance while others are rare.

The 80 zig-zag (eighty zig-zag) (Callicore sorana) is one of them. I had spotted it before but invariably it flew up and into the woodlands as soon as I tried to approach it. I was beginning to think that I would not get a picture of it… until now.

For some reason, one of them showed some patience towards the bushsnob and I managed a few shots that, not only justify its name but show it in all its beautiful tones. This butterfly sits with its wings closed and flashes them open every few seconds showing its “true colours”. As my finger in the trigger was invariably slower than the insect, I took about 100 pictures until I got the few ones that show it with its wings open.

Under sunlight the colours were really outrageous and I hope the pictures can show this unique insect!

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[1] See: https://bushsnobinafrica.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/flying-gems/