~Flutter By Butterfly~

[Snowwark]

To make a wish come true, whisper it to a butterfly.
Upon these wings it will be taken to heaven and granted.
For they are the messengers of the Great Spirit.

~Native American Legend~



Since we're on the subject of butterflies these days, here are some butterfly fun facts and trivia!

* Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8" to a huge almost 12".

* The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour.

* Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.

* The growth cycle of the butterfly, from egg, to larva (caterpillar), to pupa (chrysalis), to butterfly, takes from 2 weeks to 6 months, depending on the species.

* Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.

* The colours and patterns on the top surface of their wings are thought to attract the opposite sex, while the plain bottom surface acts as camouflage.

* Many butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars food or not.

* There are approx. 24,000 species of butterflies.

* Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return again in the spring.

 

[olena]

Great post! Thank you....

 

[cgcw]

Thanks for sharing. Each year we get caterpillars in my home daycare and watch them emerge into Painted Ladies. It is an amazing processes. The kids love to watch how they change day by day. Even the little ones want to see the caterpillars in the cups. When they emerge from the chrysalis they are wet and tired, just like a baby chick. Within minutes, though, they start to flap their wings and look for food. We've watched them eat with their feet. It's always kind of sad when we let them go but again the kids love it. They lick the tip of their fingers and the butterflies will land on their finger and then they take them out of the box and let the butterfly decide when to take off. A lot of the time we see them hours later fluttering in the yard. Just this year, we saw one come back a couple of days later. It's amazing!