On a red flower glowing like a small ember in the morning, I managed to spot a Common Mormon butterfly sipping nectar. This Common Mormon butterfly is one of those butterflies that's easy to spot, but very difficult to photograph. It never stays still, even when sipping nectar, it's constantly moving.
Its wings are constantly flapping, never once still. It also sips nectar at a very fast pace, constantly moving from one flower to the next. When approaching a flower, it doesn't immediately land on it, but instead dances in the air. After a few movements near the flower, it lands and grasps tightly onto a petal.
I almost gave up on photographing this butterfly. It kept moving, as if refusing to be captured. Its presence on my phone's camera screen remained only as a blurry, elusive image. I've taken quite a few photos of this butterfly, only a few of which are slightly better. There's a glimpse of the butterfly in them, though not perfect.
| Latin name | Papilio polytes |
|---|---|
| Observation date | 23 Jan, 2026 |
| Camera used | realme 7 Pro |
| Photographers | @reachdreams |
| Location | Aceh, Indonesia |
| Link to original community |
|---|
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/335787150
| Latitude | Longitude | Map |
|---|---|---|
| 4.695135 | 96.7493993 | https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=4.695135&mlon=96.7493993 |
