The Flitting of Butterflies: Why Do Butterflies Flit Around So Much...Seemingly Wasting Energy...And for No Apparent Reason?

[GammaGlobulin]

Dear Friends,

 

For the past week, maybe 10 days now, I have been watching the same black butterfly flit around my garden for no observable logical reason.

 

This butterfly flits from one side of the garden to the other side of the garden, yet never seems to have a detectable goal or purpose

 

This butterfly is so beautiful, black with intricate, almost jewel-like, multicolored patterns on its wings.  He flies and flies, sometimes a few minutes at a time, and then suddenly lands on a stone where he rests.  And then, almost too soon for me to appreciate his beauty, up he goes, zooming around, tirelessly beating his wings to beat the band, not knowing why.

 

Etymologically speaking, "why", I ask myself, almost a dozen times a day.

 

The butterfly does not seem to be feeding.

Neither does it seem to be having much fun, flying around in such a solitary way.

 

I have heard it said that the butterfly loves to drink nectar, if sweet, from flowers. And some say that the butterfly is a picky nectar-drinker.

 

Yet, as for this beautiful butterfly in my garden, I have, so far, never seen him drink, not even one drop of nectar from any flower. And, as far as I know, there are no flowers in my garden.

 

And so, the obvious question of this topic is whether or not the behavior of my garden’s butterfly is an apt analogue for the behavior of guys we sometimes see in places like Pattaya?

 

And why, for example, do some butterflies, such as the Monarch Butterfly, fly thousands of miles just to find what they’re looking for. This seems to me like such a waste of energy.

 

We know that Nature, especially from an energy perspective, is never wasteful. Otherwise, the Theory of Evolution and adaptation due to natural selection would easily be proven wrong.

 

In this Topic, we are mostly concerned with butterfly behavior as an analog for human behavior, as observed in our gardens. And, what are the important lessons we humans can learn from our butterfly friends, as well as our human-friends, down south.

 

Regards,

Gamma

 

Important Note:  I have already vetted this OP with Google’s Bard.  Bard has thoughtfully provided me with some enlightening and incisive comments, some of which I had not originally considered before composing this OP.

 

Of course, I will not “QUOTE” Bard in the body of this OP, simply because I do not wish to create another boring, so-called “Wall of Text”, which is always depressing and unhelpful, not to mention absolutely annoying.

 

Still, for the more inquisitive readers among us, I have created a PDF file which I will attach to this OP, for entertainment purposes only.

 

Again, best regards to all, and…

Chok-Di_!!!

 

(By the way:  Bard now calls me Gamma. He really tickles my funny bone. And, he stated that he enjoyed reading my forum-post.  Bard is a real flatterer.  Encouragingly, Bard ends his critique by telling me to “Keep up the good work!”.)

 

 

BARD's OP Butterfly Reply.pdf

[stoner]

why don't you write a book about it ? 

[Denim]

1 minute ago, stoner said:

why don't you write a book about it ? 

Halfway there already

[Celsius]

11 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Why Do Butterflies Flit Around So Much...Seemingly Wasting Energy...And for No Apparent Reason?

 

Ask any Farang butterfly in Patterz

[Mario Cosmopolite]

The Bard text shows why we should be wary of AI. It has anthropomorphised the butterfly - suggesting it finds pleasure in flying is a stretch.

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Is Bard's last name Simpson?

Edited July 16, 2023 by Etaoin Shrdlu

[Liverpool Lou]

22 minutes ago, stoner said:

why don't you write a book about it ? 

Good idea, would keep him occupied elsewhere.

[Lacessit]

The reason may be they are evading predators. Quite a few male humans in Thailand have the same pattern of behavior.

[TimeMachine]

Same reason I went to night clubs and bought overpriced alcohol.  Stupidity. 

[sirineou]

Have you heard of the Butterfly effect?

The one in your garden is probably trying to start a Hurricane in Florida. 

I suggest you intervene  with whatever action you deem appropriate, lives could be . at stake. Do it, DO IT NOW! .

[sirineou]

Just now, sirineou said:

Have you heard of the Butterfly effect?

The one in your garden is probably trying to start a Hurricane in Florida. 

I suggest you intervene  with whatever action you deem appropriate, lives could be . at stake. Do it, DO IT NOW! .

Thinking about this more,you can probably counteract the effect by running around the butterfly flapping your arms in the opposite direction.,

I would appreciate it If you could videotape and post  the process . Strictly for academic research purposes 

[jvs]

A better question would be,why are you wasting your precious time

watching butterflies?

I was talking to a butterfly earlier and he told me about some guy watching

his each and every move.

He says he has no idea why but he will just keep doing what he does

because that is all he knows.

We should know better.

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Maybe those big wings need plenty of stimulation to say lithe and strong. Could be displaying itself to the opposite sex. Could be marking it's territory. Maybe it's little brain knows that if it covers a wider area it will be in a better position to spread it's seed and understand and control it's environment.  

[brianthainess]

Don't worry Glob it'll be dead soon, after laying it's eggs on your plants.

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Don't worry Glob it'll be dead soon, after laying it's eggs on your plants.

Such a relief.

I had been fearful of becoming emotionally attached to it.

Now, having read your comment, and knowing that it will die soon, I feel ever so much better.

 

[GammaGlobulin]

OK…Forging Ahead with our Exploration of Butterfly Behavior on this OP:

 

Do you believe that the Evolutionary (adaptive variation) Functional Morphology of the Butterfly Proboscis Influences Flower Selection?

 

Some of you, but only some, may be gratified to learn that the morphology of the butterfly proboscis does influence flower selection. Please save these thoughts of self-gratification for later.

 

Because first, I would like to show a few examples of butterfly PROBOSCIDES (And, I just hope that some of you guys still recall my good advice about learning Greek and Latin roots using ANKI. Are you, by now, making gung-ho, 工合, progress?).

 

Below you will see a few illustrations of the butterfly/moth proboscis, and do pay attention to the differences in morphology evident here:

 

 

 

Hoping that you get yours straightened out, if need be, I would like to remind everyone that somewhere, somehow, there is a flower for every proboscis.

 

And, as the good book says, try not to spill your seed on the ground before you find your flower.

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[Baht Simpson]

Butterflies are insects. Insects don't have lungs but breathe through their trachea (holes in their bodies) which need a constant flow of air, hence the need to keep on the move.  They will settle but not for long. 

 

Some insects can settle longer, like mosquitos, sadly.

 

Moving constantly also gives them better protection against predators.

 

You never see an ant taking a nap.  ???? 

[freedomnow]

I had actually been thinking of this when I woke up today...you read my mind ?

[Enoon]

 

Ask yourself why you do the same.

 

 

[xtrnuno41]

OK that was the butterfly, next try to follow an ant on the floor.

You see it running forward, right, left make a bend and then comes back at the same place where it first started. Amazing though. It can even do it again, but then a different route. No, wasnt drunk and had some time to spare.

Also wonder why they can do it all day long, where do they get their energy from to do so? They are always running, amazing.

 

In my place they renewed a blocking in a ditch, guess for breaking the flow or create different levels. While i was watching it, a little pike (20-30 cm) jumped out the water on land and with some tail movements, it plunged back on the other side again.

The pike couldnt have known, he could go on after the blocking, or did it?

I never, ever heard, seen red about pikes leaving the water to come on land.

It knocked me of my socks to witness this, probably once in a lifetime.

 

Humans can think (?) and we already had many wars, so we know, but still we do so.

Thats what i call loss of energy.

Yup earth is an amazing place with all kinds of "miracles".

 

[foreverlomsak]

9 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

This butterfly flits from one side of the garden to the other side of the garden, yet never seems to have a detectable goal or purpose

Maybe it just likes to "flutterby".

[zzaa09]

9 hours ago, jvs said:

A better question would be,why are you wasting your precious time

watching butterflies?

I was talking to a butterfly earlier and he told me about some guy watching

his each and every move.

He says he has no idea why but he will just keep doing what he does

because that is all he knows.

We should know better.

But alas, we don't [know better]......

[save the frogs]

10 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

This butterfly flits from one side of the garden to the other side of the garden, yet never seems to have a detectable goal or purpose

do you think butterflies should do something more useful like invest in crypto?

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-mathematical-butterfly-simulations-provide-new-insights-on-flight/#:~:text=The researchers surmised that the,the journal Physics of Fluids.

The researchers surmised that the minute bumpiness of the air causes butterflies' signature flit, and also may help protect them against predators – the more they duck and weave, the harder it is to catch them.

[swissie]

I am thrilled! Usually the author supplies us with highly academic "food for thaught". Time consuming lenghty threads. Mostly extracted from internet/social media sources. Leading me to believe that his life is ruduced to the internet and wheelchair bound.

Thankfully not so, as he finds time to observe a butterfly trying to attract a mate.

I would be even more thrilled if he would incorporate more of his personal live insted of extracting exotic and far fetched highly intellectual issues. Recommendation: Combine the digital and analog worlds. The author is made for it.

Example: Take your smartphone to the next street vendor and tell him that your App tells you that 200 meters down the road, 1 Kg of onions can be had 2.5% cheaper....... And then comment on the ensuing discussion.
Again, combine the digital and analog world. A Win-Win situation for the author as well as his readers. It would make his future threads less cumbersome but definitely more "lively". So much more "down to earth".