Happy Tuesday, Missians!
It's Butterfly and Hummingbird Day! Yay! I think. What exactly, does this mean? What exactly are we celebrating, here? That they exist? How beautiful they are? What they do? Before I give you the answers on that, let me just say, that the butterflies down my way, have been in full effect since August.
It's weird that I didn't see as many in May, like when it was full-on Spring--or not even as many at the beginning of Summer; but they've been fluttering and flitting about everywhere now, for about the past two months. September seemed to have been the peak of their flights of fancy. When I sit in my car at lunch time, I see them flying from flower to flower and chasing each other. I've even seen a few hummingbirds too, (they seemed to have come on the scene about the same time as the butterflies), though their numbers haven't been as strong.
So, I would initially say, that maybe this animal holiday is to celebrate the time of year when butterfly and hummingbird sightings are at their peak. Although some places are much cooler, than here, this time of year, so that still may not be the answer. Okay, so what is it?
Here's what I was actually able to find: I couldn't find a specific reason why this holiday was started; the closest thing I came to, appears that it simply serves to celebrate the beauty and contribution of both these creatures. Butterflies and hummingbirds help to pollinate flowers and fruit, ensuring their continuation in nature--not to mention, they are beautiful to look at; and I suppose, those are awesome enough reasons to celebrate them. So, in honor of these noble creatures, here are some fast facts on both.
Fun Butterfly Facts:
http://www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml
It's Butterfly and Hummingbird Day! Yay! I think. What exactly, does this mean? What exactly are we celebrating, here? That they exist? How beautiful they are? What they do? Before I give you the answers on that, let me just say, that the butterflies down my way, have been in full effect since August.
It's weird that I didn't see as many in May, like when it was full-on Spring--or not even as many at the beginning of Summer; but they've been fluttering and flitting about everywhere now, for about the past two months. September seemed to have been the peak of their flights of fancy. When I sit in my car at lunch time, I see them flying from flower to flower and chasing each other. I've even seen a few hummingbirds too, (they seemed to have come on the scene about the same time as the butterflies), though their numbers haven't been as strong.
So, I would initially say, that maybe this animal holiday is to celebrate the time of year when butterfly and hummingbird sightings are at their peak. Although some places are much cooler, than here, this time of year, so that still may not be the answer. Okay, so what is it?
Here's what I was actually able to find: I couldn't find a specific reason why this holiday was started; the closest thing I came to, appears that it simply serves to celebrate the beauty and contribution of both these creatures. Butterflies and hummingbirds help to pollinate flowers and fruit, ensuring their continuation in nature--not to mention, they are beautiful to look at; and I suppose, those are awesome enough reasons to celebrate them. So, in honor of these noble creatures, here are some fast facts on both.
Fun Butterfly Facts:
http://www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml
- Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.
- Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.
- Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
- The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
- Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again in the spring.
- Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
Also, check out this site for more cool butterfly facts:
Ten Fascinating Facts About Butterflies:
There were so many neat hummingbird facts, I decided to just let you guys check out some of the websites on those for yourselves.
Nine Adorable Facts About Hummingbirds:
Top Twenty Facts About Hummingbirds:
Twenty-five Fun Facts About Hummingbirds:
Be sure to check back here on Friday, for our first Featured Creature post; and don't forget this Saturday is our first October Pet Spooktacular episode for 2017!
I'll see you all back here on Friday!
Until then,
This is your host J,
signing off................
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