The Little Wood Satyr

  Being tiny in a great big world can sure seem intimidating.  A fragile being surviving in a harsh environment is almost unfathomable.  It makes no sense.  Yet, the delicate of nature can survive and thrive.  Take, for instance, the butterfly.  It flits about in full view of every known predator but still manages to fulfill its procreatory duties and the cycle goes on.  In fact, some may say that it flaunts its resilience with its showy colors and full wings.  Surely, those draw attention to the insect!  Still, the bug carries on as if it has nary a care in the world. 

 This resilience came to mind, today, as I toted some scraps to the compost pile.  A small movement in the grass caught my eye.  This was a butterfly but of a different ilk than what we normally think of when one comes to mind.  This tiny creature is known as a Little Wood Satyr.  As I watched the little being dance from grass blade to grass blade, I had to chuckle.  Even though the creature is minute, it is wise.This, obviously, was a female and she was doing her part of keeping the species alive.  The Little Wood Satyr female lays her eggs on the blades of grass.  She carefully dots a single egg on a blade before moving to the next.  It takes about three days for those eggs to hatch and the little caterpillars to move down toward the lower part of the grass blade.  There it will munch away pretty much undetected for a while.  How smart is this butterfly??

  The odd thing about these butterflies is that they do not "eat" like the others.  While most flit about the flowers in search of nectar, the Little Wood Satyr literally eats...umm...bug poo. (Did I just say this creature was smart?)  Ok, so maybe not exactly bug poo but they eat honeydew from bugs like aphids and that is basically the same thing as bug poo.  The aphid eats plant sap which is really not that nutritious so they have to eat a lot.  Well, that makes them digest a lot and excrete a lot.  That is where honeydew comes from and that is what these butterflies eat.  Oh, enough of that.  Occasionally, one will try a bit of nectar if it cannot find enough of the other but that is a rare case.  I suppose this is another survival thing since they do not have to compete for flowers with the other larger butterflies.  Its a tough world out there so sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive.