Salaam alaikum,
I found this poor but beautiful creature outside on the payment. She (I’m guessing it’s a she) was just fluttering around the window just a few days ago. Until moving to this part of Georgia, I’ve never seen Swallowtail 
butterflies close up. Quite lovely. See how the yellows, blacks, and browns blend so elegantly in her wings? Now all that remains is this delicate body and her wounded wing. 
From Allah we come and to Him do we return.
fairuza said,
April 14, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Awww, the nine year old girl in me wants to put her wing back together with toothpicks and tissue paper!
(I actually did try that when I was a kid)
Such a bleeding heart, tree hugging, liberal I am!
Sad picture. Beautiful and sad.
fairuza said,
April 14, 2008 at 9:44 pm
BTW, not sure if that is a Monarch. Unless Monarchs are other colors beside black and orange….I could be wrong.
otowi said,
April 14, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Yes it isn’t a monarch – perhaps a swallowtail?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallowtail_butterfly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly
Zaynab said,
April 15, 2008 at 12:33 am
Assalaamu alaykum,
This butterfly is a Tiger Swallowtail inshaAllah. Assuming that it’s the Eastern one, as you’re in Georgia. As fairuza mentioned, Monarchs are black and orange. Wallahu alim.
Izzy Mo said,
April 15, 2008 at 12:59 am
Walaikum salaam sisters
Fairuza: Oh, tell your nine year old inner kind that everything will be alright.
Awww. Now this is really sad.
Thanks for the correction, sisters.
I was looking for the closest one and I thought that maybe this was a different type of Monarch. Hey, I have some flowers that I’m posting online soon so maybe you guys can help me figure out what they are.
naeem said,
April 15, 2008 at 4:55 am
AA- IzzyMo
Why the assumption that she’s a she?!? Are only female butterflies allowed to be so pretty? I don’t appreciate the sexist connotations of your comment!
aiman said,
April 16, 2008 at 2:51 am
Very beautiful butterfly. Well taken. But it’s also sad and tells us how fragile our lives our. Butterflies are the epitome of fragility.
aiman said,
April 16, 2008 at 2:53 am
*lives are*
Izzy Mo said,
April 17, 2008 at 5:51 am
Walaikum salaam
Naeem: Aaw, brother don’t take it personal.
Sorry, I just think of yellow as a feminine color.
Aiman: Last year, the same type of butterfly was flying about it. It too died on a window ledge. They have such a short life span, don’t they?
JDsg said,
April 17, 2008 at 7:04 am
In SE Asia, yellow is the royal color (among both the Malays and the Thais).
aiman said,
April 17, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Salaam alaikum Izzy,
I read that a butterfly’s life span varies from a couple of days to a couple of months. Also, I have this “joke” that contradicts our idea of its fragility in one sense. I visited a butterfly house some time ago and on the way out I heard a mother say to her children in a serious tone:”Do you have any butterfiles on you?” Because you had to make sure before you got out that no butterflies were perched on your clothes and you had to sort of just shake yourself. It reminded me of airport security questions like: Do you have any weapons on you? Do you have any extra cash on you? How fragility and agressiveness can be placed in the same sentence structure is a beauty of human langauge I think.
samaha said,
April 18, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Awwwwwww, so sad! If you ever find yourself out in Canada by Niagra Falls – you must go see the butterfly garden! Spectacular! I think my husband took hundreds of pictures within an hour – and he wouldn’t surrender the camera!
Speaking of that trip:
“I visited a butterfly house some time ago and on the way out I heard a mother say to her children in a serious tone:”Do you have any butterfiles on you?”
lol – I have a bit of militancy when trying to get the attention of my children – once made a woman move away from a bathroom sink and apologize for taking her time when I told my child “that’s enough allready”, made a twenty something year old turn around on the escalator when I told my little one “I told you to turn around”. Both situations ended with hysterical laughter when everyone realized what was going on. I’m not yelling but I’m definately authoritative when I need my children’s attention. I could definately see myself being that “joke” as I tried to keep a butterfly from leaving it’s home
b. said,
April 19, 2008 at 2:46 am
Salaam;
Very beautiful butterfly. Swallowtails are my favorite — especially the black and blue ones, so dramatic!
It should please Br. Naeem to know that it’s probably male; female butterflies tend to be less “flashy” than the males.