Showing posts with label crippled butterfly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crippled butterfly. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Poor Butterfly!

I wanted to share this before I get back to trying to respond to the comments left from Watery Wednesday. I went back to the Butterfly Pavilion outside of the Natural History Museum in L.A. While walking around snapping pictures I saw this little guy on one of the leaves. In looking at the photo you'll probably think just what I did. What's wrong with its wings?


Almost immediately, I went and found one of the people that work there and asked the man if he could answer a question for me then led him to this butterfly. He gave a very thorough explanation and I only hope I can repeat it in a way that does his explanation justice. He explained that when the butterflies first emerge from the cocoon their wings are wet and folded up like this. It takes the new butterfly a while to realize they have these wings and to let them unfold. He further explained they need the sun and warm weather to help dry their wings.


Sometimes, they don't learn to stretch their wings out before they become hard and if they become hard before they have completely unfolded, this is what happens to them. This little guy will never fly. It will have a more difficult time finding food and because it can flutter its wings to attract a mate, chances are it will never mate. This little guy will never look like the one below.