The Xerces Blue Butterfly is an extinct species of butterfly that was native to San Francisco, it was killed off after too much urban development took place. The last Xerces was seen in 1943. Another reason for the extinction was due to the lack of lotus flowers as this was the butterfly’s main source of nutrients. The Xerces is a royal blue butterfly with white outlining on it’s wings and black speckles. It is native to the west coast, a place many of us, including myself, call home. The name of the butterfly comes from the French word “Xerxes” stemming from the Persian kings of the fifth century BC. Butterflys are seen to represent the soul, resurrection, hope, and new beginnings; its is said that when a butterfly is flying near you it may represent abundant change coming in your life. The colour blue represents trust, loyalty, courage, and wisdom. This butterfly, although no longer alive on earth was a symbol of calmness, hope, and ultimate wisdom.
To dream of butterflies is to represent changes in mental health, specifically in the realm of inevitable change for the better, or new beginnings. In Buddhism the butterfly represents in meditation the ability to accept oneself as they are, and to allow ourselves to grow and change for our own good and not for another.
In general, butterflies live for up to 2 weeks, and they live all around the world, except in Antarctica as they are cold blooded and cannot survive there. They are most prominent in tropical climates such as Costa Rica where there are more than 1250 species of butterfly in Costa Rica and over 10% of the world’s butterfly population lives in Costa Rica alone.
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