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Charaxes smaragdalis
Large butterfly feeding on rotting fruit (plantain). I first noticed it sweeping and circling the area like a smart bird, lower and then home in on the aromatic fermenting fruit. It joined a swarm of flies feasting on the remnants left by the Common Agama lizards (which made several futile attempts to seize it). The butterfly takes to a branch on a plantain tree and returns only when the coast is clear. It was amazing how it was absorbed in the feeding frenzy, even unwary of a human presence. It was still as active as butterflies with complete set of limbs in the absence of a left fore limb. It stayed all the while I got closer and closer until I crossed my boundary by tapping it lightly. This is one evidently the most vulnerable moments in the life of this beautiful creatures, and among the few shots at getting personal with species as scarce as this.
In the vegetable garden
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