Fantastic Video by Ba Rae

I love the internet! I have been using Facebook and Twitter and have found so many fabulous groups that are butterfly fans! Here is a list of those groups that I think you will enjoy:

http://www.facebook.com/theloveofbutterflies
http://www.facebook.com/ShadyOakButterflyFarm
http://www.facebook.com/ButterflyPavilion
http://www.facebook.com/butterflynature
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greathouse-Butterfly-Farm/119110954790042
http://www.facebook.com/groups/303259184298/

Here is a fantastic video that shows the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly. It describes the entire process from egg to adult.



This was made by Ba Rae and you can find more about her on her facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bas-Relief-LLC/190049684378053

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Monarch Butterflies can swim!

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit Shady Oak Butterfly Farm in Brooker, Florida. Edith Ellen Lee Smith is the owner of the farm along with her husband, children and grandchildren. They raise and supply butterflies for weddings, funerals, but mostly for live educational exhibits. They ship butterfly chrysalises all over the country. I went on a tour of the farm. They had a green house full of host plants to feed the caterpillars. There were sterilized boxes with munching caterpillars and more boxes of chrysalises. They had breeding cages for adult butterflies to mate along with host plants for the female to lay eggs on. They are very careful  keeping the place sanitary and use bleach to clean the eggs. I was shocked when she told me that! I thought that bleach would kill the egg for sure! We went into "the bleaching room" and watched Edith bleach the tiny caterpillar eggs. She used a diluted solution of bleach and water and rinsed the eggs for about 15 seconds and then she rinsed them with just water. Just this small amount of time reduces the risk of the disease. The newly hatched caterpillar often eats the shell of its egg upon emerging so the bleaching ensures a tasty, free of germs meal! Another surprise I encountered was that butterflies can survive being submerged into water and will actually use their wings to propel themselves to the surface. It almost looks like they are swimming. Maybe this is how the swim stroke was called "The Butterfly". Edith demonstrates this in the following video.

I have had many comments on Facebook and Twitter asking why anyone would submerge a butterfly in water. Some of you have said that it is cruel. It was not intended to and did not hurt the butterfly in any way. It was intended to show people just how strong butterflies are. In many ways they seem so fragile to us. A Monarch must travel great distances and be subjected to harsh weather, storms, wind, rain. They often have to fly over lakes, and streams. It was to demonstrate how awesome they are! Please know that the butterfly was not hurt during the making of this video. To learn more about butterflies and what Edith does visit her at Butterfly Fun Facts. She adds something amazing almost everyday!


Enjoy!


Mindy


Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/MotherMonarch
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Mlighthipe

Nature's Wisdom Oracle Cards

I have the wonderful opportunity to announce that my Nature's wisdom Oracle cards from Schiffer Publisher is finally arrived. About a year ago my book, Mother Monarch was released and they offered me the opportunity to write and illustrate a deck of oracle cards. I had never embarked on a project of this kind so I needed to do some research.

According to Wikipedia "Oracle card decks claim to provide insight and positive outlooks to people. They are conceptually similar to divinatory tarot cards, but they are often not divided into playing card tarot cards. Unlike the Tarot, oracle cards are not known to be used for card games. Oracle decks often differ in the number of cards. Common themes used in oracle card decks involve the power of positive thought and metaphysical beings such as angels, fairies, mermaids and unicorns. These cards are sometimes called "fortune telling packs". They often lack what is often seen as the "darker" images of traditional Tarot Cards.

I have always related to nature and find that there is so much to be learned from Mother Nature. As I began to think more and more about my deck of cards I started to make a list of bugs, beasts and botanicals that had special meaning to me. I read lots of books and researched my way through the internet to come up with the imagery, symbolism and folklore that I felt would help others gain insights into their daily challenges, future aspirations and past decisions. I came up with 48 cards that I believe will help to guide people along the path as nature intended us to walk. I will periodically post each image and you can read the information I have in the book.  My first card is  

The Artichoke

The artichoke symbolizes value. It is a perennial plant belonging to the thistle family.  The flower or the head of the plant is commonly referred to as the heart. 

In Greek mythology Zeus fell in love with a beautiful woman named Cynara. She missed her family so much that she would sneak back to earth. When Zeus discovered this, he banished her to earth and turned her into an artichoke. 

In today’s cuisine, the artichoke is considered a delicacy.  The exterior is tough and only a tiny portion of the plant is edible. It takes a lot of preparation and cooking in order to make it tender. Each leaf is peeled off and must be scraped off the flesh of the plant.

Special message:

The artichoke challenges you to find the value of your present situation.  Look deep inside your heart and see if there is something special hidden within the harshness of the exterior. The work involved in the discovery may uncover something of great value to you.

If you are interested in your own deck of Nature's Wisdom Oracle cards you can purchase them from me here on this website:

 $24.99 + $4.95 shipping and handling fee

I hope that you enjoy them!
Cheers,
Mindy

Bradley Beach Elementary School- 6th Grade Art Class

Today I had the wonderful experience of going to the Bradley Beach Elementary School in Bradley Beach, NJ to teach 25 young artists how to draw a butterfly. I took my book, Mother Monarch with me. I read the book out loud to them and during the reading I had the original paintings and was able to hold them up for the children to see. I showed them how I drew the paintings and talked about all the research it took from raising the caterpillars and growing the milkweed. They learned what was involved in putting a book together and how I worked with my story to create each picture for the book. After the story was over I was able to use a digital visual projector named "Elmo" to draw a butterfly with the group. "Elmo" allowed me to draw a butterfly on a piece of paper while my hand was  under a camera. The camera enlarged the drawing and it projected it onto the wall so the students could draw with me step by step. It was loads of fun and everyone created a one of kind butterfly. Each one was unique!

 

Do you have a group of young artists that you would like a school presentation for? You can contact Mindy at Mlighthipe@mac.com for information on how you can have her visit your school too.

Mindy Lighthipe.m4v

Museum boosts sales of Mother Monarch during Butterfly Fest

I had the wonderful experience of participating in Butterfly Fest at the Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida in October. It was a blast. There were over 6,000 visitors. They were all ages and sizes and many were wearing their butterfly wings. My solo show opened at the museum in conjunction with Butterfly Fest. I was able to do a book signing of my new book, Mother Monarch. Here are a few pics of my new friend Gwen Thompson and her band of merry butterflies passing my exhibit spreading joy and pollen through the museum!

American Lady Butterfly (Vanessa virginiensis)

Insect Art to promote insect growth and development

The American Lady is a member of the Brushfoot family (Nymphalidae) and the True Brushfoot (Nymphalinae) subfamily. Its range includes most of the USA and parts of northern Mexico and southern Canada, migrating north from its winter home in Florida or Mexico. In summer it can be seen as far north as Canada. American Ladies fly south again in the fall. Exhibiting a rapid, nervous flight pattern, it prefers open areas such as fields, meadows, and roadsides and is attracted to low-growing nectar and host plants, here depicted on Zinnia elegans. The caterpillars feed on Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Cudweeds (Gnaphalium), and Pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia), pictured. The caterpillar binds several leaves together to form a silky nest and hiding place (as pictured here). The American Lady’s most striking distinguishing features are the two large blue-centered eyespots on its hind wings.

Artist: Mary Christiansen
E-mail: mary.christiansen@yahoo.com