Viraj's Weblog

I just learned that it is now a fad to release butterflies at weddings. The wedding planners must of course get these from 'butterfly farms.' From an interesting article in The Epoch Times:

"It's a fact that diseases spread from farm animals to wild animals," says Glassberg, who has a Ph.D. in biology from Rice University. "There's a whole raft of diseases that only affect butterflies. When you have millions of them in one area [as on butterfly farms], you foster the spread of disease, and even more dangerously, you foster the creation of new diseases. ... Releasing [butterflies] also decreases the genetic fitness of the wild organisms," he says, citing study results published in Nature magazine.

Might want to think twice before you let loose thousands of insects at your next wedding. Stick to throwing a bridal bouquet on your fellow human beings please.