Saturday, July 18, 2009
Our Wounded Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly
For a few days he's been fluttering about the garden as best he can (I think it's a he) with a torn / missing right wing--see below. I've tried putting him on some nectar plants, but he goes into shock and limps away to some dense foliage of another nearby plant. Butterflies don't live long anyway, and though I'm a stronger believer of tooth and claw now than I was a few years ago, there's still something that feels wounded in me, too. I don't think that's sorrow, or pity, or even compassion; I think it's much more narcissistic--and that's what feels truly uncomfortable.
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5 comments:
Life is so cruel sometimes. Poor creature.
Lovely, interesting blog... so glad I found it!
I'd say a bird tried to catch your butterfly, and just managed to mangle its wings. Birds have to eat too, but sometimes their aim is off. The butterfly looks like a red-spotted purple, BTW, not a swallowtail (no tails). There's a great site for identifying butterflies and moths on the web, http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
Susan--You're right! Wow, that seemes sorta obvious now that you point it out, but thanks for doing so!
GG--Glad you found it too! Now, can it remain lovely and interesting?
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