Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist and illustrator who was especially influential in shaping our understanding of the metamorphosis of the butterfly and laid the foundation for modern entomology in the 1700s with her book Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium.
Butterflies belong to the Order Lepidoptera; Lepidoptera is derived from the Greek lepis meaning “scale” and pteron meaning “wing.” Butterflies have broad wings that are covered with minute overlapping scales and are usually brightly colored. Gaze into a Blue Morpho Butterfly wing.
Suggestions for what to do today:
- Visit Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden in Rochester or the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium in New York City to walk among hundreds of brilliantly colored, free-flying tropical and native butterflies. Or, perhaps visit the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, Ontario, featuring over 2,000 vibrantly colored butterflies fluttering freely throughout winding pathways adorned with lush vegetation and trickling waterfalls.
- Watch the documentary Wings of Life, directed by Louie Schwartzberg and narrated by Meryl Streep. It features a super-close look at the world of butterflies (and other pollinators) and their collaboration with flowers on which fully one third of the world’s life-sustaining food supply for us humans depends.
- Volunteer for or make a donation to an organization devoted to butterflies, such as: Monarch Butterfly Fund, Monarch Watch, North American Butterfly Association, and Save Our Monarchs Foundation.
- Make plans to establish your own butterfly-friendly garden:
- Choosing the right location – sunlight is the key. Begin by finding a garden location that receives at least six to eight hours of sunlight, but also one that is sheltered from the wind. Your spot should also provide nighttime hiding places for butterflies such as small trees or large shrubs, and places for them to attach while in their chrysalis.
- Soil is essential; understand what your plants require and, if necessary, supplement your site by adding topsoil or soil amendments.
- Choose a variety of native species that will feed larvae as well as adults. Host plants are food to larvae, while nectar plants are important food sources for adults. In addition, select a variety of species that will bloom throughout as much of the growing season as possible; try to offer a continuously overlapping series of blooming plants that extends into autumn so as to offer fuel to those who migrate.
- Placement of your selected plants – clump them by species and color to make them easier to see to the visiting butterflies. Primarily, butterflies are attracted to purple, yellow, white, and orange flowers.
- Provide a puddling station, which is an area, or simply a dish, filled with rocks for butterflies to perch on and sand or dirt that is kept moist so that butterflies can drink and absorb some much-needed nutrients. Butterflies require essential minerals and salts that are found in soil and water, but not in nectar.
- Learn about butterflies as pollinators
- Assemble an online butterfly jigsaw puzzle.
These winged creatures have long been viewed as otherworldly messengers and heralds of good fortune and joy. As masters of metamorphosis, butterflies are significant symbols of transformation, freedom, and rebirth. The color displayed by a butterfly also has symbolic meaning (SOURCE: https://aimeeschreiber.com/blogs/news/butterfly-symbolism#):
- Black: mystery, night, potential death, elegance, shadow and protection
- Blue: truth, creativity, communication, trust, air, and faith
- Green: balance, fertility, love, healing, and life
- Indigo: wisdom, intuition, inspiration, authority, and honesty
- Orange: youth, curiosity, pleasure, happiness, creativity, and sexuality
- Red: courage, passion, the life-death-life cycle, fire, and survival
- Violet: spirituality, quietness, dreams, awakening, royalty, and creativity
- White: purity, unity, innocence, peace, day and simplicity
- Yellow: clarity, confidence, power, enlightenment, energy, and humility
Butterflies have been part of human culture the world over. American Indians considered butterflies a positive symbol and believed they should typically be thought of as comforting.
- The Blackfoot believe butterflies bring dreams and inspiration.
- The Cherokee, Hopi and Shoshone perform a ceremonial dance called the Butterfly Dance where women use brightly colored shawls to represent butterfly wings. The dance tells the story of tragedy and the eventual rebirth of happiness, as a woman who has lost her love travels the earth with her wings packed away, until her sorrow was finally healed and she was reborn. View the butterfly dance by Hopi dancers.
- Butterflies are some of the wildlife spirits that appear in Hopi figurines and pottery, symbolizing transformation and balance.
- To the Lakota, butterfly is a symbol of new beginnings, transition and beauty.
- The Ojibwe culture believes that butterflies roam the world bringing wonder and laughter to children.
Butterflies have also inspired artists of all kinds over the centuries. View a painting by Vincent van Gogh featuring butterflies. Listen to songs inspired by butterflies. In closing, read a poem about these winged beauties.
Two Butterflies went out at Noon—
And waltzed above a Farm—
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested on a Beam—
And then—together bore away
Upon a shining Sea—
Though never yet, in any Port—
Their coming mentioned—be—
If spoken by the distant Bird—
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman—
No notice—was—to me—
~Emily Dickenson~
Enjoy your day of discovery!
Curious By Nature 