St. Thomas Butterfly Farm

One of the highlights of my trip was a visit at the St. Thomas Butterfly Farm.  The Farm is located near to the cruise ship dock with easy access from Charlotte Amelie.  To enter the farm you have to go through a few "protocols" that prevent the butterflies from leaving their habitat. Surprisingly, the butterflies bred and cared for on the Farm are illegal in the country. Their continued presence is subject to non-importation regulations.  The Farm itself is quite small and can be visited rather quickly. But for a photographer, the variety of butterflies that flutter around in the most amazing colors and shapes is stunning and most inspiring. Butterflies, classified as insects, have four distinct life stages — egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or pupa, and butterfly.  Butterflies' lives are dedicated to breeding. It's important to watch where you step along the garden's sandy pathways, because it's easy to stumble on a mating pair. Males will mate many times. Females, only once, lay up to 300 eggs before they die. With eggs laid, the cycle of life for the butterfly starts all over again.

Technically, these “creatures” are quite challenging to photograph with a tripod and a macro rail.  It seems that as soon as you are set up and ready to press the shutter, they fly away eager to be courted a little longer.  I spent two hours at the Farm and it was a wonderful experience.  Besides taking butterfly pictures, I also focused my attention on the beautiful flowers located along the garden paths.