Dear Sian
I was listening to the radio one day, and heard someone say that there are not as many butterflies as there used to be. I did a little research, and found that indeed the butterfly population is half of what it used to be and that some species are close to extinction. This seemed to be a good topic for my conservation project.
Words to describe butterflies
Airiness and frivolity, extravagant beauty, all of a flutter, decorative adornments to a summer’s day, ecologically vulnerable, fragile winged beauties, enchanting creatures, each one a miracle of nature, you can’t help but smile when you see a butterfly, butterflies mark the return of spring.
Quotes about butterflies
Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life, and everyone deserves a little sunshine – Jeffrey Glassberg.
The butterfly is a flying flower; the flower is a tethered butterfly – Denis Ecouchard Lebrun.
If nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.
Butterflies are self-propelled flowers.
It always seems that butterflies are granting you a privileged moment in their company
“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower” – Hans Christian Anderson.
We are like butterflies who flutter for a day, and think it is forever – Carl Sagan.
And the case of butterflies so rich it looks, as if all summer settled there and died – Philip Larkin.
Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases, and pleases where it goes – Anon.
Interesting Facts About Butterflies
The wings of butterflies are transparent. The vivid colours are due to overlapping bright scales. The patterns are intended for camouflage so that predators cannot see them in trees and bushes.
They are fragile and can be adversely affected by changes in climatic conditions. This year spring species suffered in the cold wet weather. Many of the insects emerged early, coaxed from the chrysalis by the high March temperatures, and later struggled to fly around in search of food and a mate. They are cold-blooded and need to bask in the sun’s warmth. They cannot fly if their temperature is less than 86 degrees. Butterflies are Britain’s most threatened wildlife group. A decline in British butterflies means bad news for all sorts of other wildlife, as butterfly losses alert us to an increasingly unhealthy environment. Plenty of butterflies indicate a healthy well-balanced ecosystem, and a dearth of butterflies denotes a possible environmental problem.
They live anywhere from a few months to a few hours.
They suck nectar from plants and flowers and drink liquids to maintain their water and energy supplies. Male butterflies sip fluid along the edge of streams. They gather in shallow waters or wet areas in order to digest the dissolved minerals.
Bees, Butterflies and Blooms
BBC 2 - Programme 3
Our butterflies and bees are dying out. This giant insect workforce pollinates our crops and, if they disappear, most of our favourite foods will vanish too. Poor nutrition is leaving our insect pollinators vulnerable to pesticides and parasites.
90% of us live in cities, and our urban jungles are little help to our struggling insect pollinators. In our cities, what you see is close mown grass almost everywhere, with occasional bedding plants – pretty useless for our butterflies. They don’t provide much food and they don’t provide them with a habitat. We’ve intensified our farming to meet our demand for food and increased our dependence on herbicides, and our insect pollinators are in crisis. Many scientists believe there is not enough food and habitat left. For centuries, our wild flower meadows helped to feed our butterflies, but sadly it is estimated that 98% of these landscapes have disappeared. We need to get insects back into our cities. If we make a conscious decision to plant pollen and nectar rich plants, we can get Britain buzzing again.
Spring flowers are essential to give them the boost they need after being in hibernation all winter.
Plants that butterflies love:
1.
Aster. Asters will provide loads of autumn food for butterflies.
2.
Buddleia. We love Buddleia . Its common name is the butterfly bush so there’s a clue as to how good it is at the job in hand. It will grow almost anywhere in any soil. Brilliant!
3.
Sedum. Again another great provider of late summer and autumn nectar. Also called the Ice Plant.
4.
Lavender. Everyone’s favourite and a big hit with the butterflies too. A true English Lady of our gardens.
5.
Oregano. A perennial herb that our butterfly friends can’t get enough of. A real winner.
6.
Cosmos. The big blooms on cosmos seem irresistible to all manner of butterflies…and people for that matter.
Other plants that attract butterflies include: alysum, aubretia, red valerian, Echinacea purpurea, wallflower, grape hyacinth, hebe, lilac, rosemary, berberis, red hot poker, globe thistle (peacock butterfly), scabious, cranesbill, candytuft, lobelia, forget-me-not, dandelion, nasturtium, phlox, primrose, French marigold, thyme, clover, corn poppies, single dahlias, zinnias, and cornflower.
A preliminary idea for my wall-hanging.
Design exercise - black and white compositions. (I'm sorry the writing is so small - I hope you can read it.)
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