I came away from your book thinking that butterflies are crafty little creatures. Do you think thats an accurate way to describe them?
You have to be crafty. Caterpillars, in particular, have to be crafty. Everything in the world seems out to kill or eat a caterpillar: pathogens, fungi, parasitic wasps and flies, ants, birds, lizards. Plants are always trying to poison or skewer or repel caterpillars. The adult butterfly that finally emerges out of such a difficult childhood is a miracle. And then for that butterfly to survivewithout teeth or claws or any obvious defenseseems another miracle. So, of course, these insects use craft: camouflage, mimicry, distraction, scare tactics. They use their wings to hiss like a snake or they flash eyespots to resemble an owl. Often, their bright colors indicate that they are poisonous to predators, like wearing a T-shirt, Dont eat me. Other butterflies wear the same T-shirt, but arent really poisonous at all. They are just being deceptive.
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- I came away from your book thinking that butterflies are crafty little creatures. Do you think thats an accurate way to describe them?
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