Syon Park: Butterflies in the Park

Syon Park: Butterflies in the Park
24 February 2003

Location	Syon Park, London. Syon Park is the home of the Duke of Northumberland and has been so for over 400 years. It has a Swedish connection because Syon was a Bridgettine Order abbey until the 1539. The gardens were designed by Capability Brown in the mid-eighteenth century. My visit consisted of a tour of the Butterfly House and a walk in the park.

Weather	Cloudy at first but clearing up later.

Click on the images to see larger versions.


	Outside the butterfly house two swans were swimming in the river. Here's one.

And here is the other. They ignored me and my camera.

	Once inside the butterfly house, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of colourfulness of the butterflies. They're big and bright and they are everywhere. I loved it.

Here's another picture of this unknown butterfly.

	Cethosia cydippe is drinking sugared fruit juice from a scouring pad in a saucer. These were used to feed butterflies that usually feed on nectar.

Another Cethosia cydippe was sitting on a leaf. Cethosia cydippe is an Australian butterfly.

	A Hecales longwing, Heliconius hecale, looks pretty similar to the Cethosia cydippe but they are in fact not related. The Hecales longwing is from Costa Rica.

These fellows, Dryas julia, are however related to the Hecales longwing. They're also from Costa Rica.

	Much more subdued in colour is this Clipper, Parthenos sylvia philippensis, from the Philippines. It is sitting on a leaf by the pond.

Here's a more vividly coloured specimen.

	More subdued again is this butterfly. I liked the subtlety of the pattern. I think it's a Baron, Euthalia aconthea gurda.

But back to the more vivid colours. Unfortunately I don't know the name of this beauty in black, scarlet and white.

	A rather ragged-looking Scarlet mormon, Papilio rumanzovia is sitting on a leaf. The Scarlet Mormon is from the Philippines.

With more white and less red, this Citrus Swallowtail, Papilio demoleus, from Thailand is less eye-catching.

	The Tree nymph, Idea leucone, may not be very colourful but it has an impressive wingspan of up to 110 mm.

Tree nymphs are found at the upper canopy of rain forests in Sumatra, Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo.

	One last photo of this big, handsome butterfly.

Another big butterfly. This one has the unappetising common name of Great Eggfly, Hypolimnas bolina.

	I've been unable to find out the name of this white, black and blue butterfly.

Here two of them are snuggling up together on a leaf by the pond.

	One of the most well-known butterflies around is the Blue morpho, Morpho peleides, from Central America.

A shop-worn Blue morpho is sitting on a display about the life cycle of butterflies.

	I think this is a Gold Rim Swallowtail, Battus polydamas, but don't quote me on that.

If you think this butterfly looks familiar, you'd be right. It's another Clipper, Parthenos sylvia lilacinus.

	Another unknown butterfly. This one is sitting in the middle of a papyrus plant.

The last butterfly picture of the day shows a number of Tree nymphs and Cethosia cydippe sitting on some Ageratum flowers.

	And on to the birds. This is a humming bird in the butterfly house.

Another hummingbird in the butterfly house.

	A peacock is strutting across the lawn in the gardens of Syon House.

A closer look at the impossibly bright plumage.

	Here is the pea hen. They are a lot less flamboyant than the peacocks. It seems to me that the peahen is better off than the peacock. They attract a lot less attention and don't have to drag around that huge tail.

The Great Conservatory from the outside. It was built in the 1820's.

	The magnificent dome from the inside. It was the first conservatory to be built out of gun metal.

This picture shows off the airy grace of the conservatory. The door in the fond leads to one of the rounded wings.

	Walking through that door I found this sweet-smelling plant.

I took a leisurely walk through the gardens. Among the winter and spring flowers were camellias. This is a single, white variety.

	A double, pink variety is fully open.

Last but not least, a single, pink variety is almost too strongly coloured for my camera to keep up.

	These strange yellow strands are the flowers of witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis. Witch hazel is used as an astringent for the skin and inflamed eyes.

The very first daffodils of the year brightened up the lawn behind the conservatory.

	I end the way I started, with a swan.