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Slowly, pausing every now and
then, the butterfly struggles out of its sheath, upside down, wet, wings
crumpled. It turns
around making its wings hang downward,
to get into the optimum position for them to straighten.
Then it sits on the sheath and starts pumping blood and oxygen into the wing veins, that slowly unfold. The wings flatten and expand until they finally are completely straightened. A butterfly sometimes sits for hours until its wings have become dry and stiff enough not to distort any more during flight. Most butterflies hatch in the later morning, so by noon they can take off. The first thing they most often do is to find some flowers to feed on their nectar. |
