March 24: New butterfly

Spent a good portion of today at the lovely Naples Botanical Gardens, which features tropical gardens of this (Floridian) latitude around the world. The Children's Garden features a screened-in butterfly garden with many native Florida species, including the striped Zebrawings, bright orange Julias (to the delight of a little girl named Julia), Monarchs, Queens, Gulf Frittilaries, several swallowtails, and Viceroys.

 

A docent showed us a case full of chrysalises from which various species had or were going to hatch, including a freshly hatched Painted Lady whose wings were just drying and "coming to life." While we were there, she (it's hard not to ascribe the female gender to a butterfly called a "lady") flapped her wings for the first time and then eventually made her first stuttering flights, finally disappearing among the leaves of a flowering shrub.

 

Newly hatched butterfly--

Ah, to be reborn

with bright wings!

 

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