Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, two butterflies landed on the outside doormat. I believe they are called White Admirals.
It's exciting to see butterflies now because sadly for some reason they are all dying out. When I was a child, the lilacs and flowers would be covered in butterflies, now I am lucky to see one during the day. Some say it's due to pesticides but that's an easy and popular answer. There is something else going on as well I feel because in my surrounding area, it's mostly beef farms and organic vegetable farms, both of which don't use any pesticides. The topography doesn't allow large cash crop farms around here.
I suddenly noticed that they seemed to be doing some kind of "dance", I was not aware that butterflies did this. I don't know if it was a male and female doing a mating dance or two males doing a "this is my territory bud" dance. They would hold their wings down together and then slowly bring them up together. Sometimes they would turn their backs towards each other for maximum display effect.
Even if the cat startled them away, in a few minutes they would return and start all over, it was beautiful on a mini scale. Sorry the lighting is not good and I had to stay inside or they would take off. This is one of those country moments that I love, there is so much beauty around us that most people never see.
That was really beautiful. Can you believe that something so magical exists in this world? That little flying objects with wings like flower petals and miniature rainbows and solidified light beams share this world with us? Every butterfly takes my breath away.
ReplyDeleteVivian, I always loved butterflies, they are the one insect that doesn't try to bite, sting, attack you when you are a child. They are magical and I loved your description of them as much as I love their beauty.
DeleteMaybe it was some kind of mating dance and your door mat was their "spot"?
ReplyDeleteBob, that's a good name for a butterfly singles bar... "The Door Mat"! :)
DeleteVery cool! I have a lot of dragon flies but they only hang out by my spruce trees. I'm not sure why.
ReplyDeleteRichard, Dragon flies are our friends, they eat the things that bite us. They are after something hidden in the trees. Unfortunately we didn't have many this year and the mosquitoes come at a person in clouds, we even still have black flies which the Dragon flies usually kill off.
DeleteAw, this is so sweet! I love butterflies in all colors and sizes. I have a friend who is terrified of moths but doesn't mind butterflies. I basically told her to suck it up! Moths are just butch butterflies! I said it in my head, tho. Far be it from my arachnophobic (not a word) butt to poo poo another's fears.
ReplyDeleteDeedles, you mean fear of spi... spi... ewwwww the eight googly legged creepy crawler things. Yeah not a fan!
Deletenature's eye candy.
ReplyDeleteWell why thank you Anne Marie... oh sorry... you meant the Butterflies.
DeleteMy butterfly professor friend would say yes they are doing the mating dance.
ReplyDeleteDr Spo, well what kind of music would he say they are into?
DeleteI love you so much right now, Steven! I know the "s" words perform the same services as dragonflies, but no. My sister excels at killing them, so much so that her daughter (when informed that her grandfather was dead) asked "Who squished him?" My family is odd.
ReplyDeleteDeedles, that's a funny story! I'm so shocked and in disbelief that your family is odd.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very heterocentric narrative.
ReplyDeleteIt is very sad that the butterflies are dying out. I do not know what is killing them off either. (Maybe homosexuality.)
Lurker, it is heterocentric, if they were gay butterflies, their wings would be pride colours. I suspect competition from invasive species or probably a group of things combined.
ReplyDeleteButterflies are so pretty! And you don’t see them too often anymore, especially in big cities.
ReplyDeleteI read they were trying to breed Monarchs in captivity but they did not migrate! If I had a garden, I’d plant mostly butterfly friendly flowers.
XoXo
Sixpence, sadly I don't see them here in the country either. The lilacs used to be completely covered by Orange and yellow monarch butterflies when they flowered, most years now I don't even see one when they flower. It's been years since I've seen a yellow monarch and I usually only see one or two of the orange ones during summer. It's the same with local butterflies, I don't see them anymore. Funny but mosquitoes, earwigs and Japanese beetles seem to be increasing... typical!
ReplyDelete