La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
TODAY’S POST BEGINS AT BENALMÁDENA’S Butterfly Park with some new butterflies recently burst forth from their coccoons. I never tire of watching that. The staff are all knowledgeable and pleasant. They give little talks throughout the day, which are fascinating — for children and adults. One child of perhaps 2 years of age was in his screaming — I mean, screeching — phase. Wherever he was with his parents, I went in the opposite direction, which meant I avoided both talks while I was there. Some of the other visitors did the same. Even the ones with kids. Still, he was very excited about it all.
With so many spectactular butterflies I couldn’t possibly say which is my favorite. But, there is one I find especially fascinating because it looks like stained glass. It’s a Greta oto, commonly known as the glass-winged butterfly, and it’s known in Spanish as espejitos, meaning “little mirrors.”
One of today’s photos shows a minutes-old butterfly with one of the butterfly “keepers” directly behind it, so it looks like half human / half butterfly. ‘A new superhero,’ I thought, ‘The Butterfly!’ It turns out there actually was a superhero called Butterfly. Her name was Marian Michaels, Las Vegas cabaret singer by night and, after hours, crimefighter. She was the first female, black superhero. NOTE: I initially wrote that Butterfly appeared in DC Comics. Thanks to Sassybear for correct information. She appeared in two issues of Hell-Rider magazine, published by Skywald Publications.
I pared down my butterfly park photos from the original 367 to a mere 39. So there are more to come but it shouldn’t be torture. Be sure to click on the bottom four thumbnails for close-ups.
Since I shared the man’s butt (the statue) yesterday, I thought I should share a view from the front (a photo I took in 2019). So, that’s what I’ve finished with. Does the artist’s description make any more sense now? (I’ve repeated it below the photo as a reminder.)
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EL POST DE HOY COMIENZA en el Mariposario de Benalmádena con algunas mariposas nuevas que brotaron recientemente de sus mapaches. Nunca me canso de ver eso. Todo el personal está bien informado y es agradable. Dan pequeñas charlas a lo largo del día, que son fascinantes, para niños y adultos. Un niño de quizás 2 años de edad estaba en su fase de gritos — quiero decir su fase de chillidos. Dondequiera que estuviera con sus padres, yo iba en la dirección opuesta, lo que significaba que evitaba ambas conversaciones mientras estaba allí. Algunos de los otros visitantes hicieron lo mismo. Incluso los que tienen niños. Aún así, estaba muy emocionado por todo.
Con tantas mariposas espectaculares, no podría decir cuál es mi favorita. Pero hay uno que encuentro especialmente fascinante porque parece un vitral. Es una Greta oto, comúnmente conocida como la mariposa de alas de cristal, y en español se la conoce como espejitos, que significa “espejitos.”
Una de las fotos de hoy muestra una mariposa de unos minutos con una de las “cuidadoras” de las mariposas directamente detrás de ella, por lo que parece mitad humano / mitad mariposa. ‘¡La Mariposa!’ pensé. Resulta que había un superheroína llamado Butterfly [Mariposa]. Su nombre era Marian Michaels, cantante de cabaret de Las Vegas de noche y, fuera de horario, luchadora contra el crimen. Con su debut en 1971, fue la primera superheroína negra. NOTA: Inicialmente escribí que Butterfly apareció en DC Comics. Gracias a Sassybear por la información correcta. Apareció en dos números de la revista Hell-Rider, publicada por Skywald Publications.
Reduje mis fotos del Mariposario del 377 original a solo 39. Así que hay más por venir, pero no debería ser una tortura. Asegúrese de hacer clic en las cuatro miniaturas inferiores para obtener primeros planos.
Dado que ayer compartí el trasero del hombre (la estatua), pensé que debería compartir una vista desde el frente (una foto que hice en 2019). Entonces, eso es con lo que he terminado. ¿Tiene más sentido la descripción del artista ahora? (He lo repetido debajo de la foto como recordatorio).
• ¡Mujer Mariposa! Saborea con los pies, se desvanece con camuflaje, distrae con un resplandor de color, y flota como una mariposa (pero no pica como una abeja).
• Había alrededor de una docena de estos apilados de esta manera con un letrero que explicaba que eran reales y estaban vivos. Philosamia ricini o mariposa de seda Eri. (113–125 mm / 4.4–4.9 in.)
‘The earth is a single country and humanity its citizens. — Baha’ullah’”
I’m still thinking: Blah, blah, blah.
• “… reflejar todas las facetas de la humanidad: la espiritual, la material y la tecnológica. Por este motivo el torso emerge de la piedra y una mano sujeta una cuerda que se va desenrollando hasta terminar con el siguiente texto:
La tierra es un solo país y la humanidad sus ciudadanos. —Baha’ullah’”
Sigo pensando: Bla, bla, bla.
Butterflies coming out of their cocoons far surpassed the art of the blah, blah, blah. Nature wins again. Amazing variety of butterflies.
As for the screamer…my DH had a non-stop screaming two year old on a 3 hour flight last week. No attempt was made to calm her by the adult traveling with her. At the end of the flight, the flight attendant (clearly representing everyone else on the plane) stopped by the seat, looked at the kid, then threw up his hands and loudly proclaimed, “WAH, WAH, WAH!”
Mary:
I didn’t say everything I thought about the situation with the screaming kid. The parents did nothing to attempt discourage it. No distractions. No instructions. Nada. It was awful. Good for that flight attendant. I hope he didn’t get in trouble!
Nature is so infinite in its beauty! And you even worked a superhero into this post! Kudos.
Debra:
I immediately thought of you when I thought of a superhero!
Simply….WOW!
Thanks for sharing this.
Jim:
The place makes me so happy.
Sorry…I gotta be that guy cuz this is my only area of knowledge, which is usually useless: The Butterfly, although it’s true that she was the first female, black superheroine, appearing in 1971 (the year I was born), was not published by DC comics. She appeared in two issues of Hell-Rider magazine, published by Skywald Publications. Bumblebee was DC’s first black superheroine, and she didn’t debut until 1976. However, I am a fan of both characters. I think enough years have passed since her publication that the Butterfly now may be public domain. Maybe I should take a stab at trying to get her revived in my completely-unrealized-dream-job as a wanna-be comic book artist.
I also love butterflies and have enjoyed the two sanctuaries I visited, although I was paranoid both times I would accidentally step on one.
Sassybear:
Don’t be sorry. I really appreciate it. I hate spreading misinformation. I’ll fix the blog post. I DID read that she’s public domain. Go for it! (And thanks!)
So glad I didn’t perturb you be pointing it out. I was THRILLED to see comic books (my passion) mentioned in your post, and especially this obscure character. If I revive her, I will name her best gay buddy (sidekick?) Mitchell since you inspired it 🙂
Sassybear:
Name the sidekick Scoot and I’ll be elated. That was a mispelling of my name one night on a reservation at our favorite restaurant (my middle name lost in translation). It’s become a nickname by a wonderful blog follower, Deedles. I never much liked the name Mitchell! Do you ever share your cartoon work? I’d love to see it. I’ll keep working my way through your old blog posts meanwhile. Maybe even start from the beginning.
WOW….Im impressed! You captured pictures of Monthra!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had thoughts on Anne Marie today. We used to call her Fed Ex driver, Mariposa. We called him that because he was lively and always flitting about. Yes we had lunch with him twice on one of our infamous three hour lunches. I think she was trying to play match maker.
Mistress G Borghese:
She was TRYING to play matchmaker? Does that mean you never found out if he stings like a bee?
Screaming kids should be put in a quiet room with the door locked.
Or never taken out in pubic until they know how to behave.
Or their parents should be arrested for disturbing MY peace.
Rant over.
The butterflies are gorgeous. The stained glass one are amazing. We have been to a few butterfly house, the best being in Key West where they were especially frisky and landing all over people.
Bob:
The only other butterfly house I’ve visited was at what was then called the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Went inside three times and always seemed to be between cycles. Disappointing. This place is a joy. And one did actually land on my head this time and we walked together for a while. They usually have no interest in my shiny, slightly bristly landing pad. I do understand that kids go through phases. The piercing shriek is hard on the ears. What frustrated me, however, was that the parents just kept on talking to each other (louder).
Beautiful butterflies! Give us more, more, more!
Wilma:
Be careful what you wish for!
I had no idea that butterflies could be so large! The black, white and red ones are gorgeous… and the butterfly in photos #5 and #6 looked like she was wearing a beautiful ball gown!
As for non-stop screaming brats in flight cabins, both parent and child should go on a “No-Fly” list as a consequence until they can demonstrate how to properly behave in an airplane. Either that, or duct tape the brat’s mouth shut for the duration! Parent(s) who make no attempt to control their misbehaving children at public venues should be asked to leave and escorted to the exit by security if necessary. There should be zero tolerance for that type of selfishness! People can be too polite and too accommodating sometimes.
Tundra Bunny:
They’re amazing creatures. The pitch of screaming kids is seriously hard on my ears. I try to be understanding, but when the parents don’t seem to care, I DO get bugged. So, I DID get bugged the other day.
Tundra Bunny – I was coming home from a business trip in Dallas some years ago when a storm came over the airport before we could take off. Unfortunately, we were already in the plane, on the tarmac and at the end of the runway, so had to just sit there until it abated (about an hour). In the row behind me was a mother, father and four year old boy. The parents sat in the window and middle seat and allowed the (brat) to sit on the aisle. He started loudly kicking the beejeezus out of back of my seat and grabbing the top of my seat back and jerking it back and forth which unfortunately meant he also was pulling my hair. I turned around a few times and looked (glared) at the parents, but they were too busy reading their own books to notice. Finally, I had had enough. I stood up (wasn’t supposed to) leaned over to them and said (loudly and not kindly), “Either you take care of your kid or I will.” A round of applause from others around us made it clear to the parents that they weren’t too popular. Everyone was sick of the brat. At least they finally moved him to the window seat and no one else had to endure the kicking and hair pulling.
I’m the mother of four (three boys and a girl) and when they were young, traveled quite a bit with them on planes, including overseas. They knew the rules: no getting out of their seat without permission; no loud talking; and, definitely no touching of other seats. Each one had a backpack filled with entertainment (pre-electronic device days) that included a few old toys and at least one new toy and a variety of their favorite snacks. Never had a peep out of them. I can understand very small children being afraid and needing attention in some situations and feel some compassion for them, but it is when the parents completely ignore a wailing child or make no attempt to distract them from certain behaviors that my compassion ends. As you said…utterly selfish.
Amazing photos, the translucent wings are incredible
David:
Aren’t they amazing? I had never even heard of them until the first time I visited this park.
Amazing flutterbys! A nice way to start my day.
Walt the Fourth:
I could go back today. It’s another world.
The butterflies are all gorgeous! Did you know that I once worked in a butterfly exhibit? I was actually in charge of the lories and lorikeets in another part of the exhibit but we all worked closely together. It was the most unusual and the coolest job I ever had.
Clever shot of the butterfly superhero person! 🙂
Jennifer:
That sounds like such a cool job! That was an accidental shot of the butterfly superhero. She just wouldn’t get out of the frame when I took pictures.
Wow, those are amazing butterfly pics. I can see why you had so much trouble narrowing them down! The glass-winged butterfly probably has an evolutionary advantage because with clear wings, it blends in with its background. Those moths are incredible too.
Steve:
The evolutionary reasons for the butterflies are fascinating. To disappear. To look more threatening. To confuse. Mother Nature is a wonder.
The statue is a tease is what I’m thinking.
Kirk:
A not so subtle way to hide the parts. Not a typically Spanish thing to do. It must be done for the tourists.
One of my pals runs the Butterfly exhibit in Chicago. Thems that do these are often in touch with all the other ones. It is quite a business.
Urspo:
It seems to me it would be a fascinating profession.
I noticed that Deedles calls you Scoot. Now I know why. I like it. May I call you Scoot, too, or will I be infringing on the Duchess’s territory? Amazing butterfly photos. Love ’em. Butterfly, the superhero, gives me an idea for a second job. When I start my Las Vegas residency, I’ll perform at night and fight crime by day. If one of my kids had behaved that way in public, we would have departed.
Love,
Janie
janie:
I LOVE the nickname Scoot. I wish it had come up earlier in my life. So, yes, you can use it, too (I’m speaking for Deedles). I do understand that children go through phases. Also, some children have serious issues that make these kinds of things very difficult to manage and we must all be understanding. But this seemed to be a kid simply going through a typical stage of development and two parents who needed, themselves, to develop.