“I've watched you now a full half-hour; Self-poised upon that yellow flower And, little Butterfly! Indeed I know not if you sleep or feed. How motionless! - Not frozen seas more motionless! And then what joy awaits you, when the breeze hath found you out among the trees, and calls you forth again! . . .”
A Quote from “To a Butterfly”
by William Wordsworth (1801)
There are estimated 28,000 species of butterflies known worldwide. To put that in perspective, if you gave yourself one second per butterfly it would take you nearly 8 hours to mention them all by name. Then again, how fast can you say ‘Celastrina Argiolus Britannia’?
A butterfly's wingspan can range in size from a tiny five mm all the way up to a foot long!
The smallest known butterfly is the Western Pygmy Blue. Its wingspan is between 5-7 millimeters wide. How big is that? Well, a dime (the smallest of the American coins) is 17mm wide. That would mean two, or even three, of these tiny butterflies could sit side by side on it.
How big is the biggest butterfly? Just the body of the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing can have a length of 8 cm (that's 3 inches), but their wingspan can be as big as 31 cm, which equals to an entire foot in length. That is the size of an average dinner plate, or better yet, a woman’s shoe—size 14!
But why are they called butterflies? Are they drawn to butter like horseflies are drawn to horses?
There are several stories circulating. The Anglo-Saxons called them ‘buttorfleoge’, an Old English compound word meaning butter and, you guessed it, fly. This makes sense considering a common butterfly in that country is the brimstone butterfly, which just happens to be yellow--the color of butter.
Now legend has it that witches would turn into winged creatures at night to steal milk and butter. Hmm ... If flying was a gift I possessed, yes, I would definitely use it to steal me some butter! But then again, perhaps butterflies are attracted to butter considering in some places they are called ‘milk thieves’ or ‘lickers of milk’.
The butterfly has been the inspiration of poets and writers for centuries.
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free.” ~Charles Dickens
"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson
Greeting Cards Courtesy of:
BowNRanch, Sandra Rose Designs, JMDykstra Photography, I Love Cuttables, and Karen's Kreations
If you enjoy reading about butterflies, here is more to inspire you:
The Delicate Life of a Butterfly
“So you have a great love for butterflies?”
Sheryl Kasper Card Store, Sheryl Kasper
“I have noticed lots of butterflies lately...”
Dragonfire Graphics, Betsy Bush
“I’ve watched you now a full half-hour...”
“I started this blog as a way to promote greeting cards...”
Janet Lee Designs, Janet Palaggi
“The big dog in the small body...”
DogBreedz, Peggy Mundell
“The beauty and wonder of Monarch butterflies inspired me...”
Good Luck
“A most unusual thing happened this week when I was gardening...”
Painted Cottage, Judith Cheng
Butterflies
