Butterfly as Messenger of Death

[Gregory Nielsen]

Gerald,

That was probably a moth of the genus Thysania (if I got the name right).
They´re frequent in the tropics and commonly thought of being bearers of bad
news or bad fortune by supersticious people. They are attracted to lights
and often enter homes and perch on walls or ceilings.

Regards,
Greg Nielsen
Villavicencio, Colombia
-----Mensaje original-----
De: Gerald Mines <mines at tconl.com>
Para: leps-l at lists.yale.edu <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Fecha: Miércoles, 28 de Abril de 1999 02:54 p.m.
Asunto: Butterfly as Messenger of Death


>Hi,
>
>The following request for information was posted to another butterfly
>forum that I participate in.  I thought perhaps there could be someone
>on Leps-L that could provide information on this "Butterfly 'O Death"
>
>
>> Hi everybody,
>> today I was totally surprised by a beautiful butterfly that had taken
>> a laundrybasket in the back of my garden as its residence. It was as
>> big as my (womens') hand and was really perfectly dressed in a
>> black/grey/white "dress".  I live on the Island Aruba, in the
>> Carribean and I had never seen such a big wonderful butterfly before.
>> I shouted out for my maid, who is local, and asked her if she knew
>> what kind of butterfly it was. She went pale and shaky. She told me
>> the butterfly was the messenger of death and then she informed me
>> about several cases in her family where such insect was seen just
>> before the death of a dear friend or family member. Where they sit:
>> the closer to your house, the closer to your heart.  I am not really
>> supersticious, but I do believe in signs and signals. I've tried to
>> find out on the internet and in our enceclopaedia's, but I couln't
>> find anything about this "butterfly of death".  Is there somebody who
>> can tell me more about this butterfly and the story behind the
>> 'death-thing'?
>
>
>Any info on the species of butterfly and any details on the local
>superstition surrounding this butterfly would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Gerald Mines
>Omaha, Nebraska
>http://www.tconl.com/~mines
>