Butterflies with Very Large Families

My rustic backyard is filled with little black and yellow striped butterflies. They make me happy. They hurt no one, and they bring such joy.

I looked them up on the net last night. They are called Zebra Longwing Butterflies. But I was surprised to find out the similarities between these guys that dwell in my yard and large adoptive families.

Zebra Longwings are special in that they are different from other butterflies in that they live in families of about 70 insects. They don't travel very far from their "home."

You never see just one Zebra. They fly in little groups with their brothers and sisters. If you see one, you just look around for his brother. He's always nearby.

The Zebra Longwing is resourceful, too, and are one of the only species that eat both nectar and pollen. If they wore clothes, they'd probably shop at thrift shops, too.

The thing I envy about them, though, is that although 70 or 80 of them will go home at night to the same bush, once never can find that home. They have privacy. And that's something that most large adoptive families do not enjoy.

Still, each morning when I take Jack out to pee, they swarm around me, come right up to my face and dance around. I love that.