Focused on the Magic : Epcot Flower & Garden Festival ~ Butterfly Kisses

Bambi's Butterfly House (Presented by HGTV) at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival in Disney World is bigger than ever this year. Even more of a chance to get a real butterfly kiss with 1,000 native butterflies representing up to 10 species.

You can better your chances of having one land on you by wearing clothes that are bright colors, perfume or even hair products with fragrance.

Great Southern White Ascia monuste

Butterflies have pretty good eyesight and can see a single color image in the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. Some butterflies and many flowers have ultraviolet patches that are visible to butterflies. These patches help guide them to the nectar on plants.

As you can see from these pics you really get to see all the life stages up close and personal.

A Queen and a caterpillar

Moths - Fly by night

Rest with wings open

Have straight or feathery antennae

Are fat and hairy

Butterflies~~ Fly in daylight

Rest with wings closed

Have club-tipped antennae

Are slim-bodied

Zebra Longwing Heliconius charitonius

This Zebra Longwing butterfly is the official state butterfly of Florida. It enjoys shade and doesn't stay long in open sunny locations. It lays its eggs on passion vine leaves. Passion vines just happen to contain a toxin that are consumed by the caterpillars, making the adult butterflies poisonous to predators.

Queen Danaus gilippus

Photo opportunities abound in the butterfly house. Butterflies move quickly flitting from flower to flower gathering nectar.
To help freeze the action and increase your chances of getting a sharp pic, use a fast shutter by increasing your ISO to 400. These were taken with an ISO of 400.
If you use a tripod, leave the head loose so you can quickly readjust it as the butterfly moves. I don't use a tripod in the butterfly house. It seems to me it would be a tripping hazard for kids preoccupied with looking at the butterflies.

Most butterflies make no sound, but some in Florida and Texas make a loud clicking sound with their wings.

The Common Buckeye is one of the most easily identified butterflies. The large target-shaped eyespots help deter predators. It's fond of open, sunny locations with low-growing vegetation. Unable to withstand freezing temperatures in any life stage, the Buckeye annually heads south during the fall wintering in warmer Gulf Coast locations including Florida.