Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Glass Wing Fairies


Somebody has sent me these images today and, when I saw them, I felt instantly transported from the dull winter that greys this end of November day to a magical world of fairytales. I imagined the vast grounds of an immense castle, all blanketed in thick snow. No colour anywhere but the over encompassing lack of colour of a perfect white. A frozen realm, inhabited by frozen souls. But wait, lost in the middle of this park, there is a point, a speck of brilliant green. As I approach it, fearfully and eagerly, gliding on my white fluffy wings of a bird-princess, I notice it’s a tiny glasshouse, itself shaped like a castle. Inside it, there resides an entire world of flowers, their petals the most luminous reds, and yellows, and blues; and each of these flowers has its minuscule fairy, a glass fairy, of infinite beauty and grace - I watch it for hours, while the ice of my heart melts away with the happiness given me by the delicate flutter of their glass wings.

The glass wing butterfly lives in South America. It seems that its presence is used by rain forest ecologists as an indication of high habitat quality while its demise alerts them of ecological change.

19 comments:

SzélsőFa said...

Butterflies, especially the more fragile ones with vibrant colors never fail to amaze me... It's like a little miracle, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. I was walking through a photo webshop this morning looking for pictures for my blog, when I happened upon a few butterflies there. Amazing.

moonrat said...

wow.

Bernita said...

Probably the nearest thing we have to them with wings something similar here are dragon and damsel flies.

Unknown said...

well, they are beautiful pictures but they remind me to Biology class which is not good.

Unknown said...

Oh what beautiful words, Vesper - quite, quite lovely. And what a remarkable butterfly - the images are stunning.

Talking of glass things - I find a Vancouver website the other day - the company are manufacturers of snowglobes and glass decorative pieces, some of them are utterly beautiful - especially the dragons created from iridescent glass.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful words. Also, I thought these were some kind of manufactured trinket until that bit at the end of this post. I could not imagine seeing something so beautiful in the wild. Amazing.

http://strugglingwriter.wordpress.com

Mad Munkey said...

Thank you for sharing.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Oh that was so lovely! I have to show this photo to my children. IT will amaze them!

Jeff said...

Very nice, Vesper. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

they are so, so pretty!

Vesper said...

Indeed they are, Szélsöfa, but then, when I think of it, everything in nature looks like a miracle...

You're right, Wayne, they are amazing.

That was my reaction too, Moonrat! :-)

I thought of dragonflies, Bernita, but what I find extraordinary for these butterflies is the combination of transparency and opaqueness on their wings.

Hmmm, Emperor Ropi, so you only like History...

Thank you, Vanilla! Yes, some marvellous things can be made of glass...

Thank you, Struggling Writer! They are almost unbelievable...

Munkey, thank you for coming over.

I'm glad you liked them Ello!

Jeff, thank you! My pleasure...

You're right, CS, but you also must have some very nice things where you live, plants, birds, insects...

Aine said...

What a beautiful set of photos! I've seen photos of these amazing creatures before. They do appear to be straight from fairtytale lands.

Vesper said...

They were a surprise for me, Aine - but then Nature is full of surprises...

Unknown said...

No but I hate Biology.

Akasha Savage. said...

What wonderful, wonderful photos. They are just like fairies.

Thanks for your comments on my blog. Visit again.

Vesper said...

Ropi, I hope you like Nature though... :-)

Thank you, Akasha, and welcome! Do come again. :-)

Taffiny said...

I like the photos, but I like your words more. How wonderful to walk with you among your white wings, through such cold, to find ourselves in a tiny glass house, of warm enchanted beauty. I shall sit there too, and as the light changes in the sky, so will it change in reflection upon each glass butterfly. I wont leave till comes the morning. Is it a place one can find anytime? Or is it the sort of magic that once you walk back out through those doors, you can not find the actual dwelling ever again, but it dwells forever in your heart?

Vesper said...

Thank you, Taffiny, I'm glad you walk with me. Your words increase the beauty of this enchanted place. But could we find it again, were we to leave? Oh, I don't know... fairytales are full of trials for their heroes... we shall see. One thing is certain - it stays forever in our hearts.