5 ms·

How is this possible? I cant even walk 10 miles without needing food. Where did the butterflies store their energy? So many questions... Amazing if true.

whazor 2y ago
Well, I certainly hope the butterfly has more energy after eating through one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries, five oranges, a chocolate cake, an ice-cream, a pickle, a cheese, a salami, a lollipop, a cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, a watermelon, and finally a green leaf.
- stwr 2y ago
  As a parent of a 2.5yo, this made me laugh :) thank you
  - PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
    As the parent of a 30 year old, it made me smile and think "hmm, what was the name of that book?" :)
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- ignoramous 2y ago
  For the out of loop non-Anglo parents / non-parents: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar
  - frutiger 2y ago
    > …parents… Hey, we were all kids once!
    - MikeTheGreat 2y ago
      ...and we've all been out of the loop at least once (probably more, if my personal experiences are any guide :) )
  - thanatos519 2y ago
    Not just for Anglos! I have it in Russian and Dutch too. From your link: "... translated into more than 60 languages ..."
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - sideway 2y ago
    One has to appreciate how someone put conscious effort to write a "Synopsis" that's larger than the book itself.
- joeyhage 2y ago
  He was a big fat caterpillar
ramesh31 2y ago
>"How is this possible? I cant even walk 10 miles without needing food. Where did the butterflies store their energy?" Air is a very different substance at that size scale. It is quite thick and viscous. It would be more accurate to say that the butterflies floated across the Atlantic. Locust hordes do the same, and can travel thousands of miles via the jet stream. They are not flapping their wings to maintain thrust the entire way.
fullspectrumdev 2y ago
Try walking further: calculate a loop of slightly longer than that and go for it. I’ve had a lot of fun doing exactly this as exercise in the last few years - picking incrementally longer “loops” of distance and just fucking going for it with a bunch of water or Gatorade equivalents :) Caveat: may become addictive.
cyberax 2y ago
> How is this possible? Countries in the Caribbean regularly get air quality problems because of wind borne dust. From Africa.
- unstatusthequo 2y ago
  And South Florida
globular-toast 2y ago
Yes you can. People vastly underestimate their bodies.
nkrisc 2y ago
You could walk for many days without food if it was your only hope of living.
hulitu 2y ago
> How is this possible? Wind ?
- blast 2y ago
  From the article: “We estimate that without wind, the butterflies could have flown a maximum of 780 km [485 miles] before consuming all their fat and, therefore, their energy.” So they can fly 485 miles without wind? that is still an unbelievably long way!
  - bsimpson 2y ago
    It's about San Francisco to San Diego, or the length of Italy (Venice to Bari, where the "heel of the boot" starts).
  - vhayda 2y ago
    Amazing!!! But, jee, think of all the butterflies and other insects picked up by the wind that didn’t make it
  - hanniabu 2y ago
    They're more efficient than bicycles
    - szundi 2y ago
      They should ride the bike then!
  - brnt 2y ago
    Don't let Leary read this: he'd start underfueling his jets on flight going with the wind.
  - bamboozled 2y ago
    That is some amazing freaking efficiency right there.
pvaldes 2y ago
Just two words to add to this theme: Pantala flavescens
- fsckboy 2y ago
  > Pantala flavescens wikipedia: Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km (about 11,200 miles); to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km (3,730 miles)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
- NKosmatos 2y ago
  Wow!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantala_flavescens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantala_flavescens

whazor 2y ago

Well, I certainly hope the butterfly has more energy after eating through one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries, five oranges, a chocolate cake, an ice-cream, a pickle, a cheese, a salami, a lollipop, a cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, a watermelon, and finally a green leaf.

stwr 2y ago
As a parent of a 2.5yo, this made me laugh :) thank you
- PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
  As the parent of a 30 year old, it made me smile and think "hmm, what was the name of that book?" :)
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
ignoramous 2y ago
For the out of loop non-Anglo parents / non-parents: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Very_Hungry_Caterpillar
- frutiger 2y ago
  > …parents… Hey, we were all kids once!
  - MikeTheGreat 2y ago
    ...and we've all been out of the loop at least once (probably more, if my personal experiences are any guide :) )
- thanatos519 2y ago
  Not just for Anglos! I have it in Russian and Dutch too. From your link: "... translated into more than 60 languages ..."
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- sideway 2y ago
  One has to appreciate how someone put conscious effort to write a "Synopsis" that's larger than the book itself.
joeyhage 2y ago
He was a big fat caterpillar

ramesh31 2y ago

>"How is this possible? I cant even walk 10 miles without needing food. Where did the butterflies store their energy?" Air is a very different substance at that size scale. It is quite thick and viscous. It would be more accurate to say that the butterflies floated across the Atlantic. Locust hordes do the same, and can travel thousands of miles via the jet stream. They are not flapping their wings to maintain thrust the entire way.

fullspectrumdev 2y ago

Try walking further: calculate a loop of slightly longer than that and go for it. I’ve had a lot of fun doing exactly this as exercise in the last few years - picking incrementally longer “loops” of distance and just fucking going for it with a bunch of water or Gatorade equivalents :) Caveat: may become addictive.

cyberax 2y ago

> How is this possible? Countries in the Caribbean regularly get air quality problems because of wind borne dust. From Africa.

unstatusthequo 2y ago
And South Florida

globular-toast 2y ago

Yes you can. People vastly underestimate their bodies.

nkrisc 2y ago

You could walk for many days without food if it was your only hope of living.

hulitu 2y ago

> How is this possible? Wind ?

blast 2y ago
From the article: “We estimate that without wind, the butterflies could have flown a maximum of 780 km [485 miles] before consuming all their fat and, therefore, their energy.” So they can fly 485 miles without wind? that is still an unbelievably long way!
- bsimpson 2y ago
  It's about San Francisco to San Diego, or the length of Italy (Venice to Bari, where the "heel of the boot" starts).
- vhayda 2y ago
  Amazing!!! But, jee, think of all the butterflies and other insects picked up by the wind that didn’t make it
- hanniabu 2y ago
  They're more efficient than bicycles
  - szundi 2y ago
    They should ride the bike then!
- brnt 2y ago
  Don't let Leary read this: he'd start underfueling his jets on flight going with the wind.
- bamboozled 2y ago
  That is some amazing freaking efficiency right there.

pvaldes 2y ago

Just two words to add to this theme: Pantala flavescens

fsckboy 2y ago
> Pantala flavescens wikipedia: Globe skimmers make an annual multigenerational journey of some 18,000 km (about 11,200 miles); to complete the migration, individual globe skimmers fly more than 6,000 km (3,730 miles)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.
NKosmatos 2y ago
Wow!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantala_flavescens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantala_flavescens