Chasing a Butterfly

Lycaena salustius complex

This South Island common copper butterfly teased me for ten minutes or more, fluttering about erratically, pausing for brief moments, and snapping its wings shut as I snapped the shutter button. He’s a rather battered butterfly. It’s the second I’ve seen one in my garden this season, when I have seen only one before years ago. Maybe that has something to do with the Muehlenbeckia, (sown by a bird), which is the caterpillar’s preferred food. The native vine is a pest that can bind up trees. Perhaps I’ll leave it for a while.