Beautiful in Profile

Mourning cloak or Camberwell beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) 

The Mourning cloak (or Camberwell beauty as it is known in Britain) is one of the longest living butterfly species on the planet, and it is certainly one of the most powerful fliers, sometimes being found far from its range during migration.

I always forget how beautiful "cloaks" are when they are viewed from other angles. The butterfly is lovely with its dark plummy purple wings open wide, displaying a row of bright blue spots along the back edge and yellow fringes, but this member of the tortoiseshell (or anglewing) family is equally exquisite when seen with its wings folded. Every summer I am enchanted all over again when I see it in profile, my attention captured by its iridescence and complex overlapping scale structure.

There is much to be learned from looking at the great wide world from a different angle, now and then, and there are always surprises.