Entomologist Gerard Talavera had traveled more than 2,000 miles from Spain to the remote Sahel Desert to seek out another long-distance voyager: the painted lady butterfly.

But a storm bearing down from the northeast kept Talavera's eyes focused on the sky instead of the low-lying shrubs where the insects may be hiding. Just as decided to pack it in on that day in 2014, a sudden gust of wind blew something into his face.

It was a painted lady. (See stunning photos of butterflies around the world.)

"I was the only person looking for this butterfly in this part of the world, and the winds brought the butterfly to me," Talavera says.

With a grant from the National Geographic Society, Talavera