Why you should attend BNHS's Butterfly Festival this weekend if you love nature

The last line of Robert Frostrsquos poem Design goes lsquoIf design govern in a thing so smallrsquo It questions what force drives the chance encounter of a moth and a spider to an unfortunate ending for one and a meal for the other which might leave you curious about the lives of creepy crawlies Spend a weekend chasing this curiosity with the Bombay Natural History Societyrsquos BNHS third edition of the Butterfly Festival Priyanka Jundare education officer and naturalist BNHS tells us that the twoday festival will introduce all things butterfly to participants of all ages and promote awareness about the insect and its importance in our ecosystemGreat orange tipTrails and moreJundare shares ldquoThe festival is a great place to understand more about butterflies through different activities Butterflies breed during the monsoon and so October is a great time to study their life cycle look for caterpillars and other related activitiesrdquo Both days of the festival will include two batches that will be guided by experts Each batch will start with learning about the butterfly life cycle before heading out for a guided walk in the Conservation Education CentreMumbairsquos CEC garden where participants can look for caterpillars learn about butterfly behaviour how to identify them and what distinguishes them from mothsChocolate pansyExperts will detail the importance of the insect in our environment and the impact of their decline on the food chain and the consequences on other animals and the overall ecosystem You can also expect to spot different species of these colourful winged insects including Blue oak leaf Common mormon Great orange tip Common crow butterfly Chocolate pansy and Maharashtrarsquos state butterfly mdash Blue mormon among othersPriyanka JundareFluttering factsExperts will drop fascinating facts about the butterflies along these trails Giving us a preview Jundare tells us about butterfly behaviour for instance mimicry She informs us that there are poisonous and nonpoisonous butterflies and since predators stay away from poisonous butterflies the nonpoisonous ones mimic the movement of the former to trick their predators ldquoThere are other ways butterflies escape their predators The Blue oak leaf tricks predators through its appearance it looks like a dried leaf by sitting still And when it takes flight it flashes the blue on its wings to confuse predators for a few seconds during which it escapes and flies awayrdquo she explains Jundare shares a cool fact some butterflies donrsquot even visit flowers for nectar but feed on fruits and dead animals to avoid competition from nectarfeeding butterfliesTawny Rajah butterfly and Blue oak leafActivities to DIY forThe other activities in the festival include pebble painting a butterflyshaped acrylic tattoo stamps stall screening of documentaries including an edit on the Monarch butterfly migration and a poster competition where participants can highlight everything they have learned during the garden trail Prizes up for grabs include books on butterfliesParticipants learn about the butterfly life cycle at a previous editionThere will also be an art exhibition by wildlife and botanical artist Paresh Churi who will display his threedimensional butterfly paper works Along with a garden full of the fluttering creatures the organisers have devised another takeaway mdash they will suggest ways to create a butterfly garden at home where you can attract the winged insects with small host plants such as lime and curry leaf plants and nectar plants such as lantana ldquoParticipants can also explore the CEC area when their session endsrdquo Jundare concludesON October 15 and 16 730 am to 9 am and 10 am to 1130 amAT BNHS Conservation Education Centre near Film City Goregaon EastLOG ON TO bnhsorg or bombaynaturalhistorysocietyCALL 9594953425EMAIL cecmumbaibnhsorg to registerCOST Rs 300 registration fee