- Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran suborder Rhopalocera, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the superfamilies Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies in the Americas) and Papilionoidea (all others). The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though they likely originated in the Late Cretaceous, about 101 million years ago.
- Talitha (stars.astro.illinois.edu)
TALITHA (Iota Ursae Majoris). Three close (but physically unrelated) pairs of stars make the feet of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. In Arabic culture, the three represent the “leaps” of a gazelle, Talitha (Bayer’s “Iota” star) and Kappa Ursae Majoris making (and meaning) the westernmost “third leap” (the name actually coming from the number 3).