pet peeve: pinned butterflies

[superborb]

As jo_lasalle  and co. found out during the tgcf watch party, the pet peeve that I will now share with everyone so you can never unsee it: most butterfly portrayals look like dead, pinned butterflies instead of living ones.

https://emilydamstra.com/news/please-enough-dead-butterflies/ has some examples images of real butterflies, but the short answer is that most butterflies will hold the top edge of their wings much further down than commonly depicted. The reason we think of them as holding their wings all the way up like that is bc when they’re dead and set for display, they’re moved in that position for easier identification and consistency.

Comments

[starshipfox]

I notice this too! I think of them as "Disney butterflies". Their wings look oddly like clothes.

[superborb]

Once you see it, you can never stop noticing it!!