Butterfly watching is a hobby that requires nothing more than an observant eye and an inclination. Enthusiasts can watch butterflies almost anywhere – apartment balcony, a wild patch next to your house, one of the parks in the city or forested areas around the city. Early morning till noon or late evenings are ideal times for watching butterflies. It is an activity that requires patience and careful observation.
Some of the other aspects that one could keep in mind while on a butterfly trip are :
- Wear clothes that merge with nature and are not bright and shiny
- Avoid strong perfumes
- Move smoothly; avoid jerks
- Approach butterflies slowly
- Avoid casting your shadow on butterflies
- Observe butterfly behaviour so that you can figure out where to look, what to watch out for and what is the butterfly likely to do
- Keeping notes can help understand seasonal butterflies as well as time and place where different species are likely to be found
- Understand about larval host plants that can help you locate eggs, larvae etc as well as to judge if a species is likely to be in an area.
ETHICS
While enjoying butterfly watching, it is important to observe certain ethics. This would be fairly similar to the ethics that one should follow on any nature activity.
As a responsible hobbyist, you should not :
- Interfere with butterfly activity
- Try to handle butterflies
- Capture or collect
- Harm the insect in any way
- Disturb the habitat of butterflies
- Disturb, shift of handle eggs, larva, chrysalis etc