Bouquet of butterflies - Philippe Toussaint - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2007

2007: Behaviour: All Other Animals - Highly Commended

Philippe Toussaint Enlarge image Bouquet of butterflies

Philippe Toussaint (Belgium)

Bouquet of butterflies

'Butterflies are charming at the end of the day. I wanted to capture their jewel-like quality when at rest, and spent time searching for a roost on the chalk grassland of Lorraine, northeastern France. Here, males and females settle for the night, so I set up my tripod, using the soft evening light to create what I call a bouquet of butterflies.' Chalkhill blues, as the name suggests, thrive on chalk and limestone areas. Males and females look very different: males are sky blue and females are chocolate brown. Intensive farming and pesticides have depleted once flower-rich chalk downlands. Also, as less land is grazed by animals, it can quickly be taken over by shrubs and trees, which are expensive to remove.

Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro + AF Micro-Nikkor 200mm 1.4D lens; 1/125 sec at f6.7; tripod.

This photograph is available to buy as a print.