Butterflies are particularly picky about their habitat, they prefer to lay their eggs on the leaves of a specific plant or tree so  
		that they can later be eaten by the caterpillars.
  
		These so-called host plants largely determine where butterflies live.
Peacock, Red  
		Admiral, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Map all prefer the stinging nettle as their host plant.
  
		
  
		Small Heath, Speckled Wood and Meadow  
		Brown are fond of grasses, but the Common Blue clearly prefers clover.
  
		
  
		Common Brimstone are fond of wood spurge and buckthorn  
		shrubs.
Fortunately, all these plants and shrubs grow in Empelse Waard and Hedelse Bovenwaard, so on a warm summer day many species of butterfly can be spotted here, fluttering around, feasting on nectar and looking for a partner.
I use a Canon SX70 HS camera. With its extreme focal length of 1365 mm you can get pretty good close-ups but depth of field can become an issue.
The photos are from 2022 onwards.
 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
		 
	
		 
	 
	
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
	 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
	 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
	 
	
		 
	
		 
	 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		 
	
		