Minty butterflies

Busy day today, so just a repost of some photos. Rain and heavy winds here today in my region of The Netherlands, so a look back at summer may brighten the mood.

These are photos of butterflies on a plant called water mint (Mentha aquatica), a close relation of spear mint (Mentha spicata), with which it can from a hybrid called peppermint (no, I'm not making this up). The area where this mint grows smells strongly of mint, and it is a good place to take photos of butterflies, as they seem to like the stuff.

A green-veined white (Pieris napi):

^{Olympus Stylus 1s, 300mm, ISO200, f8, 1/320s}

An Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola, called European skipper in North America):

^{Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f5.6, 1/200s}

And, of course, the mint moth (Pyrausta aurata):

^{Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f5.6, 1/125s}

These mint moths are tiny, about 12mm across, and very active and difficult to photograph. Here's my favourite photo of one, not on mint though:

^{Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f4, 1/200s}

And now, off into the drizzle. Thanks for watching!