Here are a few shots of butterflies that I spotted last weekend during a visit to the Donau-Auen National Park in Vienna, Austria. Unlike the brightly-colored larger butterflies that I sometimes see in gardens, these butterflies were small, rather drab in coloration, and very skittish. They also tended to perch on the ground, which made them a little tougher to photograph. In my experience, woodland butterflies tend to fit this general profile.
I particularly enjoyed chasing one butterfly, which is shown in the first and second images below. The butterfly is a species that I do not see at home and looks quite nondescript when its wings are closed. With the wings open, though, the butterfly reveals its beautiful colors and patterns—it is like a hidden treasure.
The other two butterflies are also quite beautiful, with wonderful muted tones and patterns.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
The first 2 images are the Peacock (Aglais io) the 3rd is Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and the last Brimstone (Gonepteryrx rahmni) Hope this is of help Mike, check out the images on my latest blog post. Regards Brian.
Thanks so much for the help with the identification. I have a familiar set of references that I use when I am home, but it’s tougher when I am half way around the world.
Glad to be of help Mike, if I was fortunate to visit the States I would struggle big time with ID on anything!
It’s always interesting, because some of the birds and butterflies look similar and I can tell what family they are from, but others are completely different. As it turns out, there are quite a few species in the US that are found only in certain areas of the country and not in others, so I don’t even need to leave the country to be confused. 🙂
The last one looks a lot like a Luna moth. I have seen Luna moths in North Carolina a time or two.
If I recall, Luna moths are really big. This one was only about an inch or two in size. As for moths versus butterflies, that’s often a tough call to make.
Yes. Luna moths are definitely bigger. The ones I have seen were maybe 5 or 6 inches at least. I was just noting the similarities.
Benjamin examined each of the enlarged photos of the butterflies and then I read him the post. He immediately wanted to look at the enlarged photos of the first two and said : “I don’t know, it looks like a moth.” Then I read the above comment to him. “Mr. Mike must be right, that’s good!” Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Sorry, I was referring to blhphotoblog’s comment.
Butterflies can be so lovely! I love going into “Butterfly houses” where they are flying all around you. 🙂
It is definitely fun to visit butterfly houses. The last couple of times that I visited butterfly houses it was so hot and humid that I was sweating a lot. I remember the odd feeling of butterflies landing on me and licking off the salt from my sweat.
Oh yes it is hot in them!
Very nice Mike! Always fun to find new species of photo subjects you like photographing.
Thanks, Reed. It is fun to find them, but a bit of a challenge to identify them. One of the cool things about a blog is that readers may be from all over the world, so they may be able to easily identify species that are unfamiliar to me.
Hi Mike, I found this butterfly in my room and it looks just like the one on your first picture (Peacock, Aglais io) I sent it along its way outside. I live close to Wiener Neustadt area and was wondering if it is normal to see the butterflies during this time of month (November)? Thank you. Ed
That’s really cool, Eddie. Unfortunately, I only visit Europe occasionally, so I am not as familiar with the seasons for the species there as I am for those in the state of Virginia in the USA where I live. Where I live, it is normal to see a variety of butterflies until the weather drops below freezing. After that, it is definitely rare for me to see them.
Thank you Mike, Sorry I thought you was here. I was born and raised in Oregon and loved seeing the Monarch butterflies and Banana slugs in motion during the simmer months 😀 Wonderful beautiful photos you are taking and sharing with us, Thank you once again, all the best. Eddie
Thanks so much for your kind words, Eddie. One of the coolest things about having a blog is that I get to interact with folks from a round the world. Whenever I travel for work, as I have done repeatedly to Vienna, I often try to see nature spots rather than the tourist attractions.