Close Encounters of the Butterfly Kind

Today, Eddie and I ventured out among the fleshpeoples with our friend Meghan. We wanted to check out the Butterfly Gardens up near Nago, so...that's where we went.

We were greeted by a large pair of marble Shi Shi dogs, and if you look closely, this particular Shi Shi is mauling another less fortunate Shi Shi:
No, seriously:
Onward! Fortunately, there was a map to help us find our way:
Well, it would have helped us if any of us could read Japanese. Which we can't. So we kind of fumbled around for a while until we finally got to the actual butterfly house.
Which contained...

...OMG, I KNOW, SHOCKING...

...butterflies:
Pretty cool, huh?
Now, I have a macro lens I haven't gotten to play around with in a while, so this seemed like a golden opportunity for some EXTREME BUTTERFLY PHOTOGRAPHY.
The butterflies were pretty friendly and fearless, too. Hats were provided that had some sort of food on them. So, Meghan ended up with butterflies on her head:
As did Eddie:
I had one on my forehead at one point, but it flew away before anyone could snap a pic. Not to worry, though. I had my sweatshirt tied around my waist, and one butterfly landed on the knot. Have you ever tried taking a picture of a butterfly on your own shirt? It's challenging...
Then it moved from my sweatshirt to my hand, and there it stayed for quite a while, allowing me to get several pics:
OMG A LADYBUG:
Low rider:
"Go ahead, make another 'Mothra' joke..."
"Did someone say 'Cheetos'?"
I was having fun taking extreme close-ups of wings. Why? I don't know. I just was.
Guess I'm a wing nut.
"Tryin' to eat here, dude..."
Butterfly. Aerial View.
This picture is monochrome. Therefore, it is art.
"We've secretly replaced this butterfly's regular food with a jalapeno. Let's see if he notices..."
A honeybee, expanded to biblical proportions by a macro lens...
1,000 words...
Where are we going next? No clue. Stay tuned...