At night or during bad weather, butterflies hang from the undersides of leaves or crawl into crevices between rocks.
The typical life expectancy of a butterfly is two to 14 days due to predators or the weather. Some live for as long as a year.
The ancient Greek word for butterfly is psyche.
butterfly (English)
buttorfleoge (Old English)
papillon (French)
ihe n’efe-efe (Igbo)
farasha (Arabic, standard)
mariposa (Spanish)
borboleta (Portuguese)
bebe (Fijian)
Eighty percent of all butterfly species live in the tropics.
Butterflies communicate mostly through chemical signals. A few species can produce noises with their wings.
Some people say that when a butterfly lands on you it means good luck.
In Chinese culture, two butterflies flying together symbolize love.
In Devonshire, UK, people would traditionally rush around to kill the first butterfly of the year that they see or else face a year of bad luck.
In the Philippines, a lingering black butterfly or moth in the house is taken to mean that someone in the family has died or will soon die.
Butterflies breathe through tiny openings on their sides, smell with their antennae, and taste with their feet.
You can feed butterflies with a butterfly feeder and homemade nectar.
(Facts via the Butterfly WebSite and Wikipedia.)
©A. D. Joyce, 2014
A. D. Joyce 
In Provence, where I am from, I sometimes saw blue butterflies. I still remember it. I haven’t seen one for a long time!
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen blue ones. I must go on an expedition to France one day to find them! 🙂
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I saw a blue butterfly up in Vermont several years ago! Beautiful!
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I recently had a dream that I was completely covered with butterflies. I woke up feeling as though the dream had significant meaning. I’m still wondering. I think I’ll go with the idea that butterflies landing on you means good luck. Lord knows I could use some. LOL!
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Sounds like a lovely dream! I definitely think it was a good sign!
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Interesting. And then there is Madame Butterfly, an opera which uses stereotypes as an ideal beauty, and M. Butterfly, a play which both protests west-east stereotypes and shows how they can be used and preserved–just as butterflies are pinned to preserve their colors when dead. Both are supposed to be tragedies, but the latter analyzes the former in a post-modern fashion. Don’t watch the movie–it misses the point.
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It takes a lot to free ourselves from the stereotypical beliefs we impose upon ourselves and others, and simply to enjoy all the colors in life as they are. I don’t mean to be trite; just going along with the metaphor!
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FYI: from M. Butterfly with Jonathon Lithgow and BD Wong:
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In Native American belief, the butterfy is a totem of metamorphosis, change. If a butterfly comes into your life, you might look at parts of your life where you’re stuck. Butterfly medecine can help you identify & alter those beliefs–just ask her for help!
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Indeed, Deb, I’m really resonating with my totem and your comment. Twas not an accident, nothing is! ❤
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What a beautiful post! Thank you.
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Thanks so much, Barbara! Butterflies do so much even in the face of extreme vulnerability.
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Butterflies are so beautiful and graceful. It saddens me that they have such a short lifespan, considering the time and process they go through to become a glorious butterfly – but then there is something so beautiful in their blossoming.
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I also was sad to find that out. But it must go to show that the potential for beauty through change makes it worthwhile. ❤
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Beautiful entry….I loved watching monarch butterflies when I lived in California.
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Much appreciated, Michael. Thanks for stopping by.
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I love butterflies! Thank you for this information, some of it I did not know.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed. Butterflies are amazing creatures.
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