Common Mormon butterfly

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 namePapilio polytes
Observation date23 Jan, 2026
Camera usedrealme 7 Pro
Photographers@reachdreams
LocationAceh, Indonesia
Link to original community

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/335787150

LatitudeLongitudeMap
4.69513596.7493993https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=4.695135&mlon=96.7493993


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10 comments
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The pictures are very beautiful. You were able to take pictures of butterflies like this that are not commonly seen and they are very beautiful.

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Here where I live, these butterflies are easy to find, but difficult to photograph. They never stay still; they're constantly moving. Thank you for stopping by.

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Although you had a lot of trouble taking the pictures, looking at them, I think the trouble was worth it. Very beautiful ❤️

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