This week I thought I'd get around to putting up some images of rare and exotic butterflies that I filmed during my trip to Florida Keys (incidentally, you can read about my road trip here).
But before you looks at these amazing creatures in all their psychedelic glory, here are some interesting butterfly facts for you:
- Butterfly wings are coated with hundreds of thousands of tiny scales. The browns and blacks are caused by melatonin pigment, but the vivid colours are caused by light reflecting off the scales. Anti-aging creams kind of do that, but without the reds, greens and iridescent blues...
- Butterflies can live from one week, to one year (or more) depending on the species.
- Some butterfly larvae communicate with ants. Yes, that's right, they form alliances with ants, through the medium of vibrations and chemical signals. It seems that the ants protect the larvae, and the larvae secrete honey-dew flavoured ant food in return.
- Butterflies come from caterpillars. Some caterpillars have the ability to inflate their heads so they look like snakes. BAM!
- Some butterflies migrate, and fly over very long distances, sometimes thousands of miles. They use the sun's position to navigate and can even detect polarized light.
Mother Nature, you've gotta love her!
Enjoy xx
