Butterfly Bonanza (Grand Turk& Caicos islands).

                                                  A Gulf Fritillary!

                                                A Cloudless Sulphur!
                                    This species is a Queen..

                                        The beautiful Monarch butterfly.

                                       A Long distance migrant..

                                  Monarchs are resident here...

                                            Monarch feeding.

                                                   Common Buckeye

The next port of call we visited on our cruise,I`ve renamed `Butterfly Island`.I have never seen as many butterflies together in one place as here,it was amazing!Within the space of 400yds from the port I counted 12 different species.Some were on the wing, whilst others were feeding on the assortment of flowers that carpeted the area.One species in particular stood out from the rest,it was larger and more numerous than the others and seemed to be flitting about everywhere I walked.This was the Monarch,a species that occasionally is found on the British Isles.These long distance migrants are native to North America but are known to winter in their tens of thousands to South America.These on the islands here were probably native and stay all year round.It was annoying not knowing the names of these beautiful fritillaries but I kept the camera busy for future reference.It was strange that birds were conspicuous by their absence,but it was nice to use a small macro lens and get up close with the butterflies and marvel at their beauty.I hope my photos do them justice, because it was a fantastic experience to be surrounded by these wonderful creatures......