Do butterflies infest homes and destroy property?
I feel like it's less what they look like, and more how they impact us. It's still very human-centric, but ya know, not so much a beauty thing as one might think at first.
this post was submitted on 09 May 2026
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Yep. Spiders are top 10 ugliest creatures in history, but I would never kill one unless it was a lethally toxic variety. Because they keep the population of disease-carrying, filthy-egg-laying proboscidean-vomiting flying vermin down. Spiders are bros.
Yeah, same thing with house centipedes, but I'd argue they're even uglier than spiders.
yeah and they try to pretend they are your eyelashes, lull you into a sense of security and then bam they're drinking your eye juice
Imagine looking in the mirror in the morning thinking why are my eyelashes so tickly, and suddenly they start running around all over your face. This is why you should always keep a flamethrower in the bathroom
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Textile moths do. Good thing that they’re drab looking.
For real. I don't like mosquitos, either. Has nothing to do with the fact that they are ugly.
Mosquitos are actually quite beautiful https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58398905
Just lookup mosquito macro photography - they're all colorful and fluffy and everything
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nope, its all moths, clothes moths, pantry moths are very hard to eradicate. notable mentions are drain moths, and pantry beetles. butterflies are specializes to mostly flowers, or sometimes carrion, since they are recently evolved from moths, moths are very ancient insects.
Roaches infest your home and spread diseases. Butterflies live outside and spread pollen.
I hate pollen
You hate pollen from plants that evolved to spread it without the help of butterflies and other insects. These plants' pollen doesn't float around causing allergies.
well, sounds like a personal problem
More like you are ingesting their house
I don't think I could eat a whole house.
I'll acknowledge I made a typo, means to say invading, but I'll have to live with my mistakes
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the pests will destroy homes, and spread diseases. butteflys are much more benign.
A lot of butterflies eat shit. Like literally, I'm not just hurling baseless insults.
Cool. I'd rather they do that over eating and contaminating my pantry.
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Recently, my sister wanted to kill a caterpillar and I said that when she sees a butterfly, she looks in awe, but when she sees a caterpillar, she wants to kill it, and that it explains a lot about our society. It was enough to save the poor hungry caterpillar
By the way, I don't kill cockroaches, I just shoo them away. They're nice and usually don't come back
I will 100% toss the green ones to the neighbour's chickens. They fuck up my cabbages leaving just the veins and little poop dots then fly away as detestable white moths to fuck up everyone else's shit. Sometimes I borrow a couple chickens and just let them go find all the yummy buggies themselves. They are so silly and make a fun show out of decimating my enemies.
Don't the borrowed chickens eat your plants as well? Along with everything in their path, and even you, if they were big enough?
If mine are any indication, they’ll go hunting for bugs before they start scratching at stuff or eating plants. Even when I give mine pulled weeds the first thing they do is look for bugs on them. Those are the real prize.
They have an amazing eye for slight movement, and are quite good little hunters (they really like catching mice as well). If you don't give them time to destroy everything, and keep your eyes on them.
As a bonus they poop while they eradicate, and they do some mild scratching of the surface which is good for the soil.
I don't leave them unattended. I let them do whatever they want with anything already destroyed, and they seem to have fun if I chase them around to distract them from other stuff seeing as they come to poke me then run away when I stop following them.
Diocletian, is that you? The Empire needs you!
I understood this reference. Thanks @pugjesus@lemmy.world!
He moved. @PugJesus@piefed.social or @PugJesus@kbin.social is the new username.
Despite the change in scenery, he's still one of the Lemmy GOATs 🐐🐐🐐
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There are a lot of things that we as an animal like or don't like due to evolutionary benefits.
For example we don't like the smell of excrement because those that didn't, stayed further away from it and caught less diseases.
Another good example is snake and spider phobias, those innately scared of venomous creatures survived more often than those that enjoyed their company.
I'm 100% that roaches (and relatives) fall into this category as well. We find them slightly disgusting because those that did, killed them and lived with less diseases than those that thought that they were cute.
Butterflies on the other hand posed no threat to us and remind us of flowers that were evolutionarily important to us (interest in agriculture).
Killing cockroaches is self defence. Killing butterflies is murder.
I avoid killing insects and other small bugs but you're right, I only kill the ones that carry diseases like cockroaches and mosquitoes.
I only do if they are inside. If they are outside they are just part of the food chain.
house spiders can survive. they can food chain the inside bugs for me.
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Butterflies on the other hand posed no threat to us and remind us of flowers that were evolutionarily important to us (interest in agriculture).
Butterflies are more associated with death, than pretty things in the east.
Idk man, all them spider bros prove this wrong.
Sure ascetics are nice but it’s all about utility at the end of the day
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I try to not kill any without asking my scientist friend if they're invasive.
She said I'm allowed to scrunch all the spotted lantern flies, and I think they're very neat looking?
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Cockroaches tend to be food pests, butterflies are often pollinators. They're not on the same level.
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Crushing cockroaches is a great way to spread its eggs and have more cockroaches in the future. Spray them with soapy water instead.
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Remjnds me of...
Dennis Leary: My fluffy little dog.. He's so cute- There's the problem. We only want to save the cute animals, don't we? Yeah. Why don't we just have animal auditions. Line 'em up one by one and interview them individually.
Dennis: What are you?
Otter: I'm an otter.
Dennis: And what do you do?
Otter: I swim around on my back and do cute little human things with my hands.
Dennis: You're free to go. And what are you?
Cow: I'm a cow.
Denis: Get in the fucking truck, ok pal!
Cow: But I'm an animal.
Dennis: You're a baseball glove! Get on that truck!
Cow: I'm an animal, I have rights!
Dennis: (pointing at leather jacket) Yeah, here's yer fucking cousin, get on the fucking truck, pal!
Dennis Leary, Dennis Leary: No Cure for Cancer
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One spreads diseases, the other destroys my garden. Both are getting the boot.
so ... I don't crush either. I'm just not into it and I think they all have the right to have a fair go. I'm pretty sure they have enough to deal with without me fucking up their shit.
Pollinators are beneficial while pests are detrimental. It's not a choice of aesthetics, but of self-interest.
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