Barely Alive. Cethosia biblis, Red Lacewing, Butterfly House, ARTIS Amsterdam Zoo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Butterfly House is always a sanctuary to me especially in chilly and foggy weather such as yesterday's. I noted that our Lacewing must be on the very verge of death. It fluttered a bit, lower and lower, and finally crept about on the concrete floor, unsure where it was going, not afraid of approaching Olymp.
The scientific name 'Cethosia' derives, according to famous biologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), Nomenclator Zoologicus, from a Greek word for 'mourning': "κῆδος, luctus, kêdos = lutto". I'm not entirely convinced he's correct because mostly Butterflies are named for the heroes and heroines of Classical Antiquity. Anyway, these Lacewings often have a 'funereal' look - regard here that quite black fringe. So perhaps my slight scepticism is out of place.
Barely Alive. Cethosia biblis, Red Lacewing, Butterfly House, ARTIS Amsterdam Zoo, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Butterfly House is always a sanctuary to me especially in chilly and foggy weather such as yesterday's. I noted that our Lacewing must be on the very verge of death. It fluttered a bit, lower and lower, and finally crept about on the concrete floor, unsure where it was going, not afraid of approaching Olymp.
The scientific name 'Cethosia' derives, according to famous biologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873), Nomenclator Zoologicus, from a Greek word for 'mourning': "κῆδος, luctus, kêdos = lutto". I'm not entirely convinced he's correct because mostly Butterflies are named for the heroes and heroines of Classical Antiquity. Anyway, these Lacewings often have a 'funereal' look - regard here that quite black fringe. So perhaps my slight scepticism is out of place.