I was down in Pembrokeshire recently for a few days. While my main objective was new landscapes for postcards I tried to keep my eyes open for the unexpected and on this occasion it was a flock of red admirals feeding on ivy at the top of a south-facing cliff near St Davids. I’m not sure if flock is the correct word for a large group of butterflies but there must have been dozens of them. Being a migratory species I suppose they could have just arrived from the continent.
It was hot and sunny so they had no need to extend their solar panels, which was a pity, but even so they made great subject matter as they sucked up sweet nectar from the ivy flowers. Aren’t they spectacular insects? If they weren’t so common we would travel a hundred miles to see one. Enjoy the photographs!
The out-of-focus highlights are reflections of the sun on wavelets in the water down below.
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I was reading the first paragraph and thinking – I’m not sure if flock is the right word for a large group of butterflies – and then I read the same thing from your text! Of course, I had to find out. There isn’t a singular word for it:
A flight of butterflies
A flutter of butterflies
A kaleidoscope of butterflies
A rabble of butterflies
A rainbow of butterflies
A shimmer of butterflies
A swarm of butterflies
A wing of butterflies
Now, I’ve heard of an army of caterpillars, but a constituency of caterpillars?
Goodness! Who comes up with these things?
Thinking back a “flutter” seemed to be most appropriate for these red admirals. Flight suggests purposeful flight from a to b but these were fluttering from flower to flower. But I like some of the other possibilities in your list ….. a shimmer …… a kaleidoscope ……. a wing……