The following story from the Hong Kong Daily Press appeared on August 2nd 1932 and is notably similar to an incident in the Arthur C. Clarke novel The Fountains of Paradise (Victor Gollancz. 1979)
MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES
STRANGE PHENOMENON IN BURMA
Two curious phenomena were observed in Magole on June 25, writes the Rangoon Gazette correspondent. One was a circular rainbow round the sun, a beautiful spectacle which is sufficiently rare. The other was a migration of butterflies which is a thing seldom seen, and which is known to occur especially among Catopaillia, or common whites. The species involved in the present migration were close to C.crocale and C. Scylla , and they poured along in vast numbers on a front of about a hundred yards. Other butterflies were associated with them, but their pottering movement was quite different to the swift and purposeful flight of the Catopailia.
Such migrations have been recorded from Ceylon, where, they occur usually in February and November. Flights which continued in the same direction for many days are mentioned in Forbes, who supposes that they arise from the necessity of finding new feeding grounds but it is more probable that this is nature`s mode of distributing the ubiquitous Whites (and Yellows), since the females certainly lay freely during their journey. In Ceylon such butterfly streams are supposed to flow towards Adam`s Peak, and it is interesting to note that in Sinhalese the word for a butterfly is very nearly the same as that for a Buddhist priest; the yellow butterflies being recognised as the spirits of departing monks going on pilgrimage to the Sacred Mountain. The appias, the Hebomoia, and a few of the Papilios also seem to I ndulge in regular migrations. (1)
1. Hong Kong Daily Press August 2nd 1932 p.12
Seeing as you`ve all been so good this year and in compensation for such a mild winter (in the U.K. at least), I present to you:
DEVO SNOWBALL
My baby took our love
And then she rolled it up
Rolled it up a hill
Like a ball of snow
Like a snow ball grows
Until it gets too big
Until she lost control
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
She took a tiny bit
And rolled it up again
She went a step to far
She had to let it go
I saw it go straight down
My baby turned around
Started up again
Started up again
Started up again
Started up again
Etc, etc
MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES
STRANGE PHENOMENON IN BURMA
Two curious phenomena were observed in Magole on June 25, writes the Rangoon Gazette correspondent. One was a circular rainbow round the sun, a beautiful spectacle which is sufficiently rare. The other was a migration of butterflies which is a thing seldom seen, and which is known to occur especially among Catopaillia, or common whites. The species involved in the present migration were close to C.crocale and C. Scylla , and they poured along in vast numbers on a front of about a hundred yards. Other butterflies were associated with them, but their pottering movement was quite different to the swift and purposeful flight of the Catopailia.
Such migrations have been recorded from Ceylon, where, they occur usually in February and November. Flights which continued in the same direction for many days are mentioned in Forbes, who supposes that they arise from the necessity of finding new feeding grounds but it is more probable that this is nature`s mode of distributing the ubiquitous Whites (and Yellows), since the females certainly lay freely during their journey. In Ceylon such butterfly streams are supposed to flow towards Adam`s Peak, and it is interesting to note that in Sinhalese the word for a butterfly is very nearly the same as that for a Buddhist priest; the yellow butterflies being recognised as the spirits of departing monks going on pilgrimage to the Sacred Mountain. The appias, the Hebomoia, and a few of the Papilios also seem to I ndulge in regular migrations. (1)
1. Hong Kong Daily Press August 2nd 1932 p.12
Seeing as you`ve all been so good this year and in compensation for such a mild winter (in the U.K. at least), I present to you:
DEVO SNOWBALL
My baby took our love
And then she rolled it up
Rolled it up a hill
Like a ball of snow
Like a snow ball grows
Until it gets too big
Until she lost control
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
And it rolled back down
She took a tiny bit
And rolled it up again
She went a step to far
She had to let it go
I saw it go straight down
My baby turned around
Started up again
Started up again
Started up again
Started up again
Etc, etc
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