h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Butterflies - A11417410
Author: Matt James - (Field Researcher/UGVolunteer/Post Reporter/Scout & Footinootier) - U168592

I've been working on this one for a while, think it's ready for PR. Comments etc. as always

MJ

Ta.

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I can recall watching Chris Evert (on TV) playing a tennis match at Wimbledon, she was about to serve when a butterfly settled on her. She waited for it to fly off, not attempting to brush it away. Butterfly stops play at Wimbledon!

That must have been thirty years agoit was just one of those moments in your life which captures you completely and you never forget it.

They're luvverly.

Great to see an Entry about butterflies in PR and a good one it is too Matt.

I attempted to write an entry on butterflies over a year ago, (F150575?thread=603264) but didn't get very far, and gave up

Hmmm don't know if you'd be interested in using this, even *if* I can find it. There is a butterfly garden, somewhere in London, (I think) that was in the new quite recently because it was threatened with closure. It's not the only place you can visit to see many species of butterfly.

Emmily

Oh, and it was me who answered you too! Small world innit!

Brilliant, loved it. One of those entries that leaves me with a . Full of things I didn't know but written with as light a touch as a butterfly's. When I saw the title, I thought how can you put butterflies into one guide entry? But you have .

Do you want nitpicking? On a first read all I noticed was that I wanted to put a comma after 'process' to understand 'However, if it passes through this process with little difficulty it will quickly make its maiden flight'.

If you were wanting to add anything, you could add a touch, but just a touch, to the mention of migration. That such fragile-seeming creatures travel such distances adds to their fascination. But the entry doesn't need it.
Waz

Thanks Waz, it was a joy to write I've done what you suggested, and a little more tidying up

MJ

Ref figures:

'However, with some 20,000 varieties including the superfamilies...'

According to my notes, there are 13000 species of butterfly in the World, of which 68 species are resident in the UK.

There are over 20000 species of INSECT in the UK.

(I realise by 'varieties' you probably mean a sub-classification of species )

According to my notes there are 165,000 different species of Lepidoptera, of which 145,000 are moths and 20,000 are butterflies.

Elsewhere I have information stating that between 15-20,000 species of butterfly exist around the globe. This further concurs with the numbers found from another source that states there are 3,000 species of Hesperoidea (skippers) and about 15,000 species of Papilionoidea - a total of 18,000 worldwide.

So I went for the bigger number, seeing as many more species are being discovered, probably every day.

'So I went for the bigger number, seeing as many more species are being discovered, probably every day'.

Hmm. Wonder if the rate of discovery is greater than the rate of extinction (due to rain forest destruction etc))...?

I'd have to say...probably

The conservation side of butterfly existance I missed out, but I really should put something in there about it.

Phew - major re-write on getting some more information.

I've added more to this now, hope it reads ok

Reads fine to me Matt

Emmily

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Woo-hoo!

well done Matt!

(Just in time for my Mariah Carey entry too)

Congratulations Matt

Emmily

Oh my. Mariah Carey link?