Chased By A Butterfly

This butterfly wanted desperately to land on my head! I was walking out of the nature park when it came flying aggressively towards me. Now before you tell me that butterflies are harmless, I know they are, and I fully agree. But it's a little unsettling when a creature seems so determined to have contact with you.

I saw it come flying down towards me from the sky in front of me. It was flying in a direct line towards my head. I make it a habit never to touch the animals if I can help it, so I ducked quickly so it would just fly past me. But then it did the oddest thing!

It flew right back around in a tight circle and tried to land on my head again! I did another quick duck and it actually changed direction to try to catch me anyway! It was very determined, and this whole thing became an odd dance with me trying to fend of this butterfly without touching or hurting it! Me being chased by a butterfly would have been extremely funny to any onlookers.

Finally, it looked like the butterfly had given up, and it flew off into the forest. I just began to turn to continue my hike, but the butterfly came zooming back! This time as it flew towards me, and got close enough to try for another landing, it suddenly did a climb up to the sky. Then it did a loop, quickly diving back down towards the ground, and it landed right at my feet! The pictures you see here are the only proof I have for this strange tale.

The butterfly then waited there on the ground while I began taking the pictures. I began to think maybe there was something wrong with the creature, but its behavior while it was on the ground seemed normal enough. And what is normal? Well, that would be sitting there slowly moving its wings while also slowly turning in a circle. Watch a butterfly some time; you'll see.

It was now that I remembered seeing this same type of butterfly last year. This butterfly has a wingspan of about 3in/7cm, so it's a good sized butterfly. The one last year was much bigger, but it was the same kind.

The only real problem I have is that even though I know this is a fairly common butterfly, I can't find out what kind it is. I've looked through so many pictures and guides that my eyes hurt, but I never find this kind. So does anyone have an idea of what kind of butterfly this friendly little creature might be?

So there you go. A strange story and a mystery to go along with it, plus some closeup pictures of a butterfly. I guess that makes a story that at least I think is entertaining. And that's good enough for me. I'll be back next time for another thrilling story of creatures and things.

Nature Center Magazine today brings you Copas, with his look at the State of Hawaii, and a good sampling of the nature you might find there. Don't miss it.