In any romantic daytime picturesque scene, you’ll find the impressionist effect isn’t complete without beautiful butterflies fluttering about in the air and a pretty girl in a frozen pose amongst them. Yes it is undeniable that beauty of the butterflies are equivalent to those of legends but they are real and ever so often we do not appreciate them for more than just being nature’s gift of accessories to make a scene perfect. Yet whilst I’m sure when nature had beauty of butterflies and their pleasantness intended, it was really secondary to the function the little ones were meant to serve.
Butterflies are essentially pretty winged insects with an inspiring lifecycle that have given rise to the practice of making reference to them to reassure our young we feel behind on blossoming. Yet…shocking as it sounds, butterflies have a function in nature and it hasn’t got anything to do with looking pretty. In fact butterflies are just as important as the bees because they play a major role in pollination, which is what keeps nature’s greens alive.
It’s not new news that the population of bees are taking a dive and many organizations and individuals have stepped up to protect whatever bees are left and work on measures to bring the population numbers back up but I’m not sure if people realize we need to do the same for butterflies.
No, general butterflies population is not extinct, but certain species are. And while we may not have the definite answer as to why we are losing our bees, we can be sure that we are contributing to the unnecessary ‘death’ of butterflies when we go about ‘catching them’. Butterflies like many insects do not have a very long lifespan – they may in comparison live a tad longer ( some can live up to a year and that in bug years is ancient) but that means nothing when they are ‘hunted’ by collectors and unknowing fascinated children or when their homes are destroyed.
At present I’m not aware of any specific butterfly revival projects, probably because like I mentioned earlier, they aren’t extinct but even without one, you can revive the population in your own yard. All you have to do is tend to your garden and plant some greens that attract them. And you’ll be delighted to know that what attracts butterflies are really beautiful flowering plants that will make your garden look a though it were a snapshot of an impressionist painting! If you are serious about building a butterfly garden then please visit The Garden Helper where they will give you details and instructions on how to make your garden butterfly fit!
