St. John's Bible -- the conclusion of the Gospel of Mark
It's March and the Monarch butterflies are on the move. This is the month that they leave their winter roosting sites in Mexico to make the extraordinary journey northward, eventually finding their way to Canada. It is extraordinary that in the final phase of this migration millions cross the vast expanses of the Great Lakes. We've seen them roosting in trees along the Lake Ontario shore in the Fall, like thousands of pieces of stained glass.
Recently I purchased a facsimile volume of the St. John's Bible containing the gospels and Acts (I got a great deal!) This was commissioned by a monastic community in the United States as the first hand-calligraphed and illustrated, or illuminated manuscript of the bible in centuries.
In the resurrection chapter at the conclusion of Mark there is an accompanying illustration of Monarch butterflies in various phases, as symbols of transformation. As we await the miracle of Easter morning we can also anticipate the return of these wondrous creatures.
By coincidence or serendipity or providence we saw that PBS was re-broadcasting a 2018 Nature documentary called Sex, Lies, and Butterflies. Here is some of the information shared in this gorgeous episode:
Noteworthy Facts:
- All butterflies share a single, genetic ancestor – a small brown moth that lived more than 50 million years ago.
- Butterflies are actually moths – about 20,000 species of them – and inhabit every continent on the planet except Antarctica.
- Though the flight pattern of butterflies seems totally random, their oversized wings act like an enormous rudder, enabling them to soar with complete control.
- The eyes of a Painted Lady butterfly, whose habitat spans Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa, contain more than 30,000 lenses.
- A butterfly uses its tube-like tongue – or proboscis – to feed. It uncoils its proboscis and sucks up liquid nourishment using a micro-pump in its head.
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