By Dorene Lehavi, PhD.
I heard what could have been little mice scampering on the roof of my art studio, but there are no little mice on my roof. I looked up and flapping against the light fixture was a giant butterfly. I never had seen one so big. It's wing span was about 7or 8". It was a stunning shade of muted yellow gold with dark brown decorative lines running through it's wings. Where is my camera when I need it?
I would have loved to keep it, but that didn't seem fair or practical. So I shut off the light and tried to direct it to the door leading to my garden which I opened and moved back and forth to get it's attention. It didn't take my invitation to leave the easy way but instead flew into what looks like a window but doesn't open. It frantically kept butting itself into the glass but of course nothing happened. It seemed to be working itself into a frenzy of hysteria. Do butterflies get hysterical?
I wanted to help the poor beauty, so I grabbed a piece of corrugated cardboard and pushed it against the window under the butterfly. I began to speak to it in a soft reassuring voice, telling it that I wanted to help and if it would just trust me and mount the vehicle I am providing I would see it out to safety. After about a minute of my soothing voice, it did as I suggested. It mounted the transportation I was providing and I carried it to the open door and released it to my garden never to see it again. When the butterfly stopped repeating its futile attempts it was able to find a solution that worked.
It was an amazing beauty. I looked online and discovered that butterflies can actually be as large as 12".
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