Butterflies - Swallowtail, Checkerspot, Dogface And Orange-tip Baby Onesie

Thoreau said that the study of butterflies extends the limits of being in new directions, so that "I walk in nature with a sense of greater space and freedom. It suggests, besides, that the universe is not rough-hewn, but perfect in its details." A butterfly is among the most beautiful of creatures. There's so little structure or power to produce such a flash of light and color. Their color is partly dyes and partly diffraction of light and is similar to the colors seen on awet oily street or in a rainbow. The colors, some brilliant and some subdued, protect the butterflies by letting them blend with their background, by advertising that they taste bad, by suddenly dazzling their pursuer, or by making them resemble a larger animal the pursuer fears. Butterflies have been seen at amazing heights by airplane pilots and far out to sea where they have landed on ships torest during migrations. Most species eat plants, some eat insects, and some cross-pollinate the many flowers they visit. S...