butterflies vs bees, FITE!

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Butterflies seem to me like the manic depressives of the insect world. They fly about so unpredictably and silently, I imagine them getting cross when they meet other insects because they are frightened someone will remind them they weren't always so good-looking. Also, it's much too easy to harm a butterfly, if you touch it's wings. 'Keep away from me, butterflies! For your own good, and because you are creepy!'

At my parent's house, bees sometimes arrive by courier in special vented boxes. Bees relax me, especially a lot of them at once, the noise they make - so soothing! The best thing this summer was sitting under the olive trees with the bees flying over my head, to and from their hives. One time, a bee crawled very near my leg. My mum was pruning roses in the garden below. To make her laugh I said, 'Stay with me, Bee! You can be my pet and live in a half-full honey jar on top of the TV!'. She didn't hear me, though.

― rainy, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bumblebees are the greatest (i say this despite having been stung by them twice), because they're big and loud and clumsy. and sorta friendly.

― di, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

besides, butterflies just fly around and look pretty. at least bees DO something.

― di, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bumblebees are the frat boys of the bee community. A beesting feels nice, like a mini fever.

― rainy, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bees don't care whether you like them.

― maryann, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lots of butterflies are like the shallow supermodels of the insect world. They flutter around in some sort of cruel arrogance and forget that they were not so attractive once. I'm sure there are plenty of nice ones around, but they all bear the unfortunate "girly" connotation and many probably abuse this superficial authority. Also.. get em out of my stomach....

Bees are interesting because they have this queen majesty feminine aspect, while they are also equipt with aggression and stingers. Bees also get to reside in cool hives and they are allied with the Wu Tang Clan, which is a plus. When I was young, I attempted to attack some bees with rake once and was properly chastised by their wrath. I hope they can forgive me.

― Honda, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Butterflies win coz as far as I know I'm not allergic to 'em. Last time I was stung, my hand swelled so's I could not get it through my sleeves, it was very unpleasant. Rainy I'm in awe that you can shrug off that poisonous puncture so cavalierly.

― Pyth, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bumblebees are the frat boys of the bee community
thats a cruel thing to say.

― di, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

its sad the way that bees die after they've stung you. but maybeeee they do it to get our sympathy.

― di, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"big and loud and clumsy. and sorta friendly." that just made me think of a a frat boy. Did not mean to be cruel, I like frat boys.

― rainy, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

regarding butterflies and depression ... doesn't a lot of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with one's life stem from drudgery, repetition, the sense that one is doomed to cycle through the same mistaken points in life?

whereas butterflies just flit about, 'randomly' as you say ... what makes you think they fear those around them? if anything, their errant pathways speak of a kind of arrogance and self-absorbtion slightly more related to Honda's description ..

Bees, of course, are workers. Their roles are well-defined. There's a sense of belonging and community, a feeling of security .. but also isn't it always the way, to suggest that the drones love their lot?

― Chris, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bees, bees, so obviously bees, a million times over. i've loved them since i was a child and i will love them forever, they are my brothers and sisters.

― ethan, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There's a Dame Darcy comic where she loves the bees and hugs a big fat one. Aw.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I much prefer bees. When butterflies are standing still they look pompous.

― Nancy Drew, Wednesday, 6 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

BEES

― BEER, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

defining moment in butterfly's life = chrysalis molting stage, after which they become butterfly

defining moment in bee's life = stinging you, after which they become dead

advantage: butterfly

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

yes, but not all bees sting anyone. I would imagine that the number of deaths by natural causes for bees must outnumber death by stinging about 100:1, although of course I have no way of verifying this. How on earth would you go about finding out? I would vote for bees. About the only thing that butterflies have in their favour is that they look pretty. Bees are really useful, providing us with honey, beeswax and royal jelly. They live in wonderful communtities and have done so for millions of years. When humans were mere opportunist hunter gatherers, out for themselves without the slightest hint of developing civilisation, there were bees with their little cities...with division of labour too and a leader (the queen bee).

― MarkH, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

ethan<=>rainy mindmeld shockah!!

― mark s, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

another reason:
BEE ---> BEER ---> BEST!!

― mark s, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Waggle Dance beer, fermented from honey, is the gratest!

― Trevor, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

While it is true that not all bees - in fact a very tiny minority - are ruthless murderers, I am sure that there have been more deaths caused by bees than butterflies (and falling off a cliff or something chasing a rare butterfly for your collection doesn't count, that's your fault not the butterfly's. I mean you couldn't even get the butterfly for manslaughter).

― Emma, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

without getting all pratchett on yo' sorry ass, surely the chaos butterfly that's causing all those hurricanes must have a few fatalities on its hands/feelers

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bees are much better.

― Tom, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My sci-fi hating ass isn't at all sorry.

― Emma, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The waggle dance in general is fantastic. Butterflies don't do that do they? Although they do have a liquid form in their life cycle which is quite cool.

― Jonnie, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bees give us honey and beer. Butterflies give us queasy feelings in our tummies. No contest.

― Trevor, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Butterflies have a sitcom. And of course Love Is Like A Butterfly. So they are better. Also they are more sociable i.e. Social Butterfly. Bees are just boring and industrious i.e. Busy Bee. Or get into your bonnet.

― Emma, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Also they are more sociable i.e. Social Butterfly

But a social butterfly is exactly someone who isn't really sociable, they don't stay in one place long enough to make any real social bonds. the "butterfly" there works to contradict the word social, so it's a negative use of the word butterfly.

Bees are all about the society they're in. it's an ant/queen thing.

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Exactly.

Plus butterfly is the name of a crap song by Crazy Town.

Butterflies are just caterpillars with wings - no amount of window dressing can disguise their inherent ugliness.

― Trevor, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Butterfly a crap song! You clearly haven't heard Pete & Tom's karaoke rendition.

You can have butterflied prawns, butterfly cakes, er, butter - they so rule.

― Emma, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My dad thought they were called 'flutterbys' when he was a boy (ahh!) but then I discovered that that is in fact the etymology of the word.

― N., Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You can have butterflied prawns

Do you mean 'butterfly prawns' or are you making some kind of racist joke?

― N., Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

weren't Flutterbye's the free velvet-winged butterfly things you could get free with lots of crisp packets sometime in the mid 70s. I think it was tudor crisps. quick google... bah

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

They're both rubbish in comparison to wasps.

― Jonnie, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

wasps are lazy fuck bees. and don't get me on hornets, the shits.

Anyway, why do they call it ovaltine? the jars round, the mug's round, they should call it... etc

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't think I was making some kind of racialist joke. I didn't intend to. I have seen them described as butterflied before I'm sure. Whatever.

― Emma, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Of all the people in the world, only Mohammed Ali was able to recognise the positive attributes of BOTH species. Not only that, but he was able to APPLY them to his own life. To wit, by FLOATING like a butterfly, and STINGING like a bee, he achieved true greatness.

There's a lesson here somewhere, but I forgot what it was.

― Trevor, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

BEES

― ethan, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

bees.

― ethan, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Bees are noble. Butterflies are vain.

― jel, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Would the Blind Melon video have been as good had the girl been dressed as a butterfly? Would we have fruit if we had to rely on butterflies to pollinate the trees? Advantage bees.

Also, why are there always dying bees on tennis courts?

― nickn, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

and they always try to swim in the pool, I had to rescue about a thousand of them this summer.

― rainy, Thursday, 7 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

six years pass...

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Argynnis_adippe_1_Richard_Bartz.jpg

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 03:51 (seventeen years ago)

Aw, I meant this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Argynnis_adippe_1_Richard_Bartz.jpg/465px-Argynnis_adippe_1_Richard_Bartz.jpg

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 03:51 (seventeen years ago)

It's a High Brown Fritillary.

― roxymuzak, Wednesday, 2 April 2008 03:53 (seventeen years ago)

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