September 25, 2013
Butterfly World in Scottsdale is a 10,000-square foot (929 sq. m) facility. Thousands of butterflies and moths from around the world fly around this simulated rainforest. There are about 28,000 species of butterflies in the world. In North America, there are about 800 different kinds of butterflies.
Butterflies are significant in many cultures. In Japanese heritage, one butterfly stands for young womanhood while two symbolize marital bliss. To the Aztecs, the butterfly symbolized the souls of dead warriors who had fallen on the battlefield and the souls of women who had died in childbirth. The butterfly’s unique transformation suggests a story: from sluggish crawling caterpillar to the stillness of a cocoon before emerging into the sunlit world as a Technicolor masterpiece winging its careless spirals of freedom. Any metamorphosis such as this abounds with meaning: rebirth, change, evolution. This symbol can give people strength. Butterflies are also used to reflect love, such as in the Chinese legend of the Butterfly Lovers. The Owl Butterfly, with its two large eyespots and snake-like face, gazes from the top of its wings to fool a predator-filled world.
