Good morning! Its a lovely day. Still warm, but a gentle breeze is dancing through all the trees and bushes. And the sky is that late-Summer blue! Our seasonal changes are pretty subtle here in Florida. But beautiful all the same.
So, did you ever wonder where butterflies go to sleep? I hadn't.... until late yesterday evening. I was out there trying to convince Maynard to come in, but he was having too much fun running around in the magnificent night air! Normally I would join in the fun ~ but I have a cold and my patience wasn't at its usual level. I just wanted to go to sleep!!! Maynard DID NOT! hahaha We finally worked out our differences and as I was carrying his big behind in I brushed up against one of the fire bushes near the porch. Oh my! All of a sudden there were all these fluttery shapes dipping and swooping all around. Then they started finding spots to land. Just hanging there.... still as could be. I felt so bad! Here I'd gone and disturbed their sleep. But, do butterflies sleep? I mean, they don't have eyelids. So how do they "sleep"? I'd all ready found out "where".
Well, it seems that they don't actually sleep, they quiescent! They are cold blooded creatures, so they need warmth to be active. That's why you rarely see them at night or on really cloudy or cold days. They find a safe place... fold their wings and hang quietly. They quiescent. ( LOVE that word. Maybe I should teach it to my three year old grandson! "Can you imitate the butterflies and quiescent for a while?" Yeah, like that would work! hahaha)
The fire bush seems to be a top choice for feeding and sleeping. Here are a couple of photos I took this morning of a Tiger Swallowtail. These plants were still in the shade but it was definitely warm enough for butterflies to be up and about!
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