11 November 2019 - WINTER HOME FOR MONARCH BUTTERFLIES IN MEXICO

WINTER HOME FOR MONARCH

 BUTTERFLIES IN MEXICO

G'day folks,

Welcome to the winter home of millions of migrating monarch butterflies. 

Millions of monarch butterflies—enough to cover entire fir forests—migrate every winter from Canada to the mountains of the central highlands of Mexico, creating a swarm of beautiful insects. But there is nothing to fear. These butterflies are remarkably tame and even land all over the hands and heads of visiting tourists.

In 1940, Canadian entomologist Fred Urquhart and his wife Norah Urquhart started a project to learn more about monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) migration routes. Helped by many American citizen scientists, they found plenty of wintering sites in the United States. However, the butterflies arriving in Texas seemed to suddenly disappear. A fellow entomologist, Kenneth Brugger, traveled through Mexico, following the monarch butterflies’ migration.

In 1975, he found a spot in the mountains in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, where the butterflies spent the winter months. Since then, those peaks have become a tourist attraction.

Now, to protect the butterflies, this place has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The government of Mexico has turned it into a biosphere reserve. During the winter months, all the trees go from green to orange due to the large number of butterflies that live in and on them. The sky looks full of the picturesque creatures.

The reserve is also covered by forests of sacred firs inhabited by a variety of other species of wildlife. But good luck finding them underneath those butterflies.

 Clancy's comment: Extraordinary, eh?

I'm ...

8 August 2019 - THE BUTTERFLY ROOM - AUSTRALIA

THE BUTTERFLY ROOM

 - AUSTRALIA -

G'day folks,

Well, here is a restaurant with a difference. Hundreds of tiny dead butterfly eyes gaze down at diners in this Australian eatery. 

With its exotic Nyonya fusion menu of Malaysian, Indian and Chinese cuisine, the Singapore House would stand out simply for its exquisite food, even without a room full of butterflies.

The food is unusual and highly praised, but what truly takes this restaurant to another level is its decor. With warm lighting glowing from suspended lampshades and slanted skylights, the gleaming mounted tortoise shells and the eyes of various taxidermied beasts of burden glimmer brightly as you sip Singapore Slings. Reminiscent of the Victorian era, creature-heavy Dr. Doolittle tales, the Singapore Room is like stepping into an adventure storybook.

 Despite its many charms, nothing is more charming to some, and disturbing to others, than the Butterfly Room. Hundreds of frames containing a brilliant color spectrum of mounted butterflies grace the interior of the most sought after dining spot in the building. Accented in warm golds and reds, the butterflies clutter the wall in geometric clusters and leave diners awash with the feel of British Colonialism in Asia, or for the more squeamish, a thousand bug eyes watching them eat.

Clancy's comment:  I guess it could be worse than butterflies, eh?

I'm ...

3 March 2015 - THE GLASS BUTTERFLY

THE GLASS BUTTERFLY

G'day folks,

I always like to post details about amazing species. Here is one. This beautiful butterfly, named 'Greta oto' but nicknamed the 'glass butterfly' opens to each side 6 cm of incredibly beautiful, and completely transparent, wings. A close look at the glass butterfly's wings will show you that through the veins running across its wings, you can see a perfect image. Most butterflies come with painted wings, using tiny scales to draw incredible designs we humans love to see. The reasons are usually the same: Either deter enemies or attract other butterflies. 

The glass butterfly's wings have the same purpose: They hide the butterfly in plain sight, therefore allowing it to escape detection by birds who have great eyesight, especially for colour. To achieve this kind of transparency, the wing is coated with numerous sub-microscopic tiny bumps that break light and prevent it from bouncing back from the wing, thereby creating transparency. 

You can find this amazing insects in Central America, anywhere between Panama and Mexico.  

Clancy's comment: Amazing nature, eh? They look like stained-glass windows. Have you ever seen one of these? Wow, I'd love to spend hours photographing them.

I'm...

Think about this!