The peacock butterfly Aglais io nature's beauty

The surprise in the forest was waiting for us. The Peacock butterfly. I had never seen one before!
Hello, friends, insect-lovers, and community, greetings!

I never thought I could find something beautiful in such a messy forest. My husband and I were walking in Lilevik Forest, which is near our house, and along the coastline. The forest was still recovering from the devastation caused by last year's Cyclone Amy. We hoped that time would heal the damage inflicted on nature.

At the entrance of the forest, many trees were damaged, and it was disheartening to see how the once dense forest had become so sparse. As I looked at the chaos, I didn't feel inspired to take any photos. But then, something small caught my attention when I looked closer. To my surprise, I saw a butterfly:

As soon as I noticed it was a butterfly, I thought it was the common type we often see in the forest or around the garden. However, when I focused my camera on it, I realized it was stunningly beautiful. I began taking photos from a distance because I didn't want to scare it away. Slowly, I moved closer, and the butterfly remained stable on the chopped wood chips. Because of the open forest, the sun was shining right on it so I got nice bright colors.

It was very quiet and still until I got the last photo, and that flew away in the forest

This is the location where I saw this magical creature.

This post is my small contribution to the #FascinatingInsects community hosted by
@jaki01

Thank you very much!