Here’s another fragile butterfly: this one has survived a cold snap.
Hi, Mr. Nature here, celebrating the wonders of God’s Creation.
What could be more fragile than a butterfly? If you handle one, the wings might crumble in your hand.
But in 2012, crowds of bird-watchers in Dorset, Southwest England, gathered around to see a monarch butterfly with a tattered left wing–a butterfly that could only have gotten there by crossing the Atlantic Ocean ( http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-19557711 ).
Okay, so he had a little help from the wind. Most likely he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Nevertheless, there he was. Scientists reckon he got caught in the wind, swept up into a high altitude, and blown clear across the ocean.
Monarchs don’t take root in England because milkweed doesn’t grow there and that’s what the monarch caterpillars need to eat. (It makes them toxic to predators.) But on the rare occasions when they do make it to England, at least they seem to find the flowers to their liking.
What a blessing to be able to rescue one of God’s most fragile creatures 🙂
That’s amazing. Crossing. The Atlantic is no trivial accomplishment, many men have died in the storms, etc. but this delicate little miracle of nature can somehow do it.
In the third week in June Arkansas has one of the many Monarch butterfly festivals celebrated across the USA. It is held on Mt. Magazine, the highest elevation in the state.