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Mullerian Mimicry

       Hello everyone!        I'm back! (mild applause...) So I missed so much because, I went on a missions trip to Northern Ireland, I went to help my grandpa build a shed, I went on a vacay with my family for our summer vacation. And that took a while. I also had some school over the summer... (someone in the audience yells, "Stop making excuses!") But anyway, I'm back and I hope to stay that way.        Today I am bringing you the topic of Mimetic rings, or Mullerian Mimicry. This is when a very distasteful butterfly of one genus has a counterpart in another genus that has almost the same coloring and wing shape. This was discovered by a German naturalist named Fritz Muller, hence Mullerian mimicry. He first brought the idea up in 1878 and did a few experiments to prove his theory.       His idea was first found in insects from Lepidoptera, but later found in other insects such as bees, and later in fro...
Recent posts

Butterfly Update! - Part 2

       Yes! They are finally done! I am so amazed at these butterflies. Ok, Ok, I need to calm down. So, about a week ago, I showed you my new butterflies, but they weren't mounted. So here they are in their mounted state.        I was feeling kinda artsy so these are some 'artistic' photos.        Now as you might have remembered, there were four butterflies that I got. Unfortunately, one wasn't in very good condition and I broke it trying to mount it. Instead of throwing it away, I put it in a double-sided locket. Here's what the hind wing in the locket looks like:        Well, that about concludes it for my update. I am getting some new beetles, which are new to me, in a few days and when those arrive, I'll show some of them to you. I ordered over 135 so I don't think I'll get to all of them, but until next time...             ...

Butterfly Wonderland - Part 2 - Chrysalises

       Hello! I'm back for part two on Butterfly Wonderland. Today, I'm going to talk about the Emergence Gallery which is where all the chrysalises emerge.        After you go through the Butterfly Hall , you head into what is called the Emergence Gallery.        This room has 3 glass panels on a wall. inside the panels, there are 3 climate controlled boxes, each with up to 6 chrysalis holders, I'm sure that isn't what they are actually called, but you get the point. Each holder has rows of seperate chrysalises. At the front of a row, there is a photo that has what the butterfly looks like and its scientific name.        There are butterflies hanging on their empty chrysalis, and ones all over the ground. A Prepona butterfly on its empty chrysalis. Behind this Troides butterfly, there are empty chrysalises. An Atlas moth on its cocoon. This is one of the largest moths ...

Butterfly Wonderland - Part 1 - Butterfly Hall

       This series is going to be on Butterfly Wonderland. Butterfly Wonderland is located in Scottsdale Arizona and it is the largest butterfly atrium in the world. We were there a week ago with my cousins and my grandma and I loved it. There were so many cool butterflies and even a few landed on me. But I am getting ahead of myself. So lets start with where Butterfly Wonderland begins. The Butterfly Hall.        The Butterfly Hall is located right after you pay for your ticket. You walk down a hallway with these awesome frames beside you. I took photos of a few of them and I'm sorry for the bad photo quality. I hope you can still see why I love butterflies so much. These butterflies are from a group of butterflies named  Taenaris.  They all have distinctive eye-spots on the underside of their wings These are  Delias  butterflies. They would rank in the top five of my most favorite genuses These are all...