Despite their small size, butterflies are some of the world's most wondrous animals. Their beauty, seemingly miraculous metamophosis, and apparently care free flight all spark our imaginations.
Butterflies have long held a special place in mythology and in many cultures they symbolise love, freedom and renewal.
In middle Europe, butterflies signal the coming of Spring, in China they symbolise marriage and rebirth and the ancient Greeks often represented their goddess Psyche (the female soul) with butterfly wings.
In time gone by, people even thought that butterflies were witches or fairies in disguise, flying about quietly sot hey could steal milk and cream...perhaps this is where the name Butter Fly cam from.
The Monarch Butterfly
Many people are really concerned about the disappearance of butterflies from our suburbs. For butterflies to survive and thrive they need habitat and the presence of food plants for their fussy caterpillars to fuel their growth and metamorphosis. Every species of butterfly requires its own particular group of plants that their caterpillars can feed on. Often, by getting rid of a particular group of plants in our environment, we inadvertently get rid of our butterflies.
Monarchs are large bright orange butterflies with black markings on their wings. With their characteristic gliding flight they try to conserve as much energy as possible by catching the upward movements of warm air. Monarchs indeed are one of the most famous butterflies in the world,they have been living in Australia for the last 150 years. It is beleived they were attracted to their unique host plant, Asclepias sp. also known as the swan plant.
The Monarch butterfly has a lifespan of in excess of 6 weeks. Some Monarchs have been know to live for up to 6 months.
The Butterfly Legend
If anyone desires a wish to come true, they must first capture a butterfly and whisper their wish to it. Since a butterfly can make no sound, the butterfly cannot reveal the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit who hears and sees all. In gratitude for giving the beautiful butterfly its freedom, the Great Spirit always grants the wish.
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