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How did the term butterfly originate?
It has been suggested that people in the middle ages believed that butterflies stole milk and butter. The tendency for butterflies to feed on poop might also explain the Old Dutch term. Butter-coloured sulfur butterflies feeding together on animal excrement might have given rise to the name.
Was the butterfly originally called a Flutterby?
The fact that butterflies were once called flutterbys is a popular story, but like many popular stories, it’s not true. So the word butterfly evolved from these two words (Buttorfleoge and Boterflye) from Middle English and Old English.
What is the meaning of the name butterfly?
In other languages the butterfly’s name means ‘licker of milk’ and milk thief. So maybe they were not off the mark. In Russia they’re called ‘babochka’ or ‘little soul’. The ancient Greeks called butterflies ‘Psyche’ which also means ‘soul.’ Many cultures feel that when we die our souls go to heaven as butterflies.
Why is a butterfly special?
Butterflies and moths are indicators of a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems. They indicate a wide range of other invertebrates, which comprise over two-thirds of all species. These collectively provide a wide range of environmental benefits, including pollination and natural pest control.
Why is there a butter in a butterfly?
The most commonly posited is that it comes from the insect’s depiction in folk traditions, according to which is the notion that butterflies (or witches in their form) steal butter: An even more curious explanation is that the insect’s feces is yellow, when in fact butterflies leave no feces.
Is butterfly a spoonerism?
The fact is that butterflies do not defaecate; hardly surprising since they have no anus. They have a rectum, in which all their waste matter is collected – albeit in the liquid rather than the solid form – but they lack a means of voiding this waste.
What is a good name for a butterfly?
Pet Butterfly Names
- Bellora – ‘to be beautiful now’
- Venus – ‘the Goddess of beauty and love’
- Callalily – ‘one like the lily flower’
- Fleur – ‘flower’
- Aeris – ‘an earth full of flowers’
- Mael – ‘prince or chief’
- Margeurite – ‘pearl’
- Thibault – ‘courageous and people’