If there were a single thing about our planet that I could guess that the deities made for pure visual pleasure, it would be the butterflies. I'm not aware that they are an environmental scourge anywhere (I'm kind of disregarding their caterpillar stage of life here), and they come in such a stunning variety of colors and patterns. I'm pretty sure that if they ever thought of such things, they would probably disagree with my assessment, since their lives are filled with the necessity of reproducing and all.
We've been pretty hard on butterflies. The prevalence of pesticides in my region has thinned their ranks to the extent that I rarely see them despite spending a lot of time outdoors. The famous migrating Monarchs have suffered a population crash in recent years, in part due to habitat destruction and climate disruptions.
In any case, I was at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle Washington today and was quite entranced with the butterfly enclosure. Out came the camera, and I offer you this gift of color on the day after Christmas. May you have a new year of peace and justice.
I will try to provide some identification of these species when I get a chance...
No comments:
Post a Comment