Dressed to Ill
Don’t be fooled by this butterfly’s beauty. It’s actually toxic, but only to those who might consider it dinner. When this tiger-striped butterly is in it’s larva stage, it eats toxic vines. But don’t worry about this pretty critter, the species has spent centuries adapting their bodies to tolerate those toxins. Great for the butterfly. Not so for its predators. All those bright colors? They’re just a warning to hungry birds that this insect is not their best bet for a meal.
This butterly is just one of about 2,000 sweeping through the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, where nearly 40 alumni and their families showed up in April for an event sponsored by the Denison Club of Central Ohio. It kicked off with a lecture by Tom Schultz, a behavioral ecologist and Tight Family Professor in the Natural Sciences at Denison, who alerted guests to just what kinds of butterflies to look for once inside the tropical exhibit. The swallowtails, with their triangular forewings and rounded, scalloped hind wings. The sulphur butterflies, known for their yellow coloring. The brush-footed butterflies, the milkweed butterflies, the long-winged butterflies. The day was full of opportunities to learn all about butterfly biology–mating practices, defense techniques, and transformation–but inside the exhibit, with its waterfalls, balmy temperatures, lush plants, and fluttering fauna, it was just downright pretty.