A dedicated wildlife photographer has spent three years amassing a stunning collection of images of the UK’s most beautiful butterfly species—some of which he took right from his backyard during lockdown.
Andrew Fusek Peters has captured the series of colorful shots after studying the behavior of butterflies in the British countryside since 2017.
Incredible photographs show 17 different species of the winged insects in full flight or taking off from flowers across Worcestershire and Shropshire.
Andrew says he took over 150,000 frames to achieve his unique collection of images and believes he is the first person to shoot such a variety of butterfly species.
His photos include everything from the painted lady, green hairstreak, marbled white, silver studded bleu, and red admiral, to the dark green fritiallary and Essex skipper butterflies.
The 54-year-old from Lydbury North said, “I’ve spent three years studying the behavior of UK butterflies and working to capture them in motion. It was worth the effort to show their incredible delicacy and beauty in flight… quite a lot during lockdown were in my garden.
“I’m using a very high speed camera to shoot the butterfly in flight and it also requires understanding and knowledge of when the butterfly is going to take off.
MORE: Large Blue Butterflies Were Extinct in England, But Now Those Beauties Are Back After 50 Years
“There are very few shots like these in the world because there are very few people who can capture a butterfly in focus as it takes off from a flower.
“I shoot at 50 frames per second and I haven’t got them in a studio. I’m out in the wild and I’m able to get up close and personal.
“My favourite is the Brimstone because of its beautiful, buttery colour. They say the word butterfly from Old English comes from the color of the Brimstone.
In my image, “you can actually see the shadow of the proboscis, which it uses to drink nectar from a flower. It is extraordinarily clear.
“The wood white is quite rare and an extraordinary color and beautiful in flight.
RELATED: Man Single-handedly Repopulated Butterfly Species in a City Using His Backyard
“The clouded yellow is fairly rare and flies over from Europe, but what’s super rare is to get them all in flight.
“My next big project will be to take flight shots of every single one of the UK’s butterfly species. I’ve set myself a mad challenge as there’s been 71 recorded in Britain.
“I think that will take another five years and require a lot more travel across the entire country.”
Have you ever tested your photography skills on flying butterflies? Get some tips by looking at Andrew’s excellent images below.
An easy way to tell a butterfly from a moth? Only butterfly antenna are shaped like clubs, with a bulb at the end of a long shaft.
Lavender is one of the herbs many butterflies love.
Butterfly? Or tiny leaves falling through the sky?
Butterflies may come in many different colors, but they all evolved from the same common ancestor over 225 million years ago.
Can you see the shadow of this brimstone’s proboscis?
And… lift off!
Share These Amazing Images From Nature With Your Friends on Social Media…