Wings of Terror Butterfly Conservatory
A few years ago on Valentine’s Day, my romantic husband decided to surprise me by taking me to the Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory in Cambridge. It was only a short trip from our home, and we had never gone there before, so I welcomed what I thought was going to be a very romantic outing with my sweetheart. Little did I know that not only would my Valentine’s Day be unromantic, it was downright terrifying.
When I tell people now that I am afraid of butterflies, they first smirk in disbelief, and when I don’t smile back at them, they look very puzzled indeed. Yes, my little secret is out of the bag. I am not sure when this strange phobia began, although I blame my Dad at least in part. He fabricated these elaborate stories of giant moths “flap, flap, flap” whenever my Mom or I was too afraid to swat a moth that had come into our home in search of a light to flutter around. These stories scared the heck out of me as a youngster, and reminiscing about them even now gives me the willies!
So, there I was at Wings of Paradise, camera in tow, hand-in-hand with my Valentine, and ready to take some beautiful snapshots as a reminder of our special day together. From a distance, I must admit that the butterflys were quite beautiful, but when they got close enough for me to actually see their giant wings, I hid behind Stuart in fear. I am told that one of these enormous creatures actually landed on my back. Had I known this at the time (or worse, seen it for myself) I’m sure I would have run from the place, screaming in hysterics! As it was, our afternoon was spend with me ducking at each passing insect, and getting strange looks from the other guests at the Conservatory who watched the winged creatures in awe.
Alas, I know many of you are laughing at my strange neurosis. Apparently, Nicole Kidman, popular movie star and internationally known talent, also suffers from the same strange affliction. I’m sure Ms. Kidman would agree, “give us snakes or heights any day…”
So, there you have it. I won’t be venturing back into that scary situation any time soon. By the way, I’d also like to mention that my Brother-in-Law is afraid of squirrels…but that’s another story!
I seem to remember you having a dislike of freshly caught fish as well…something about the gooey scales!?! Or am I thinking of yet another Catherine? What a cute pic of Liam! He is utterly gorgeous….you know I’m jealous! Hope all is well…can’t wait to see you both in June.oxoxo
You’re the second person I know to have that phobia! One of my roommates in University is afraid of butteflies and moths as well. Very bizarre.
The butterfly conservatory is a great place for pics though. I’ve been there once, and my bf and I want to go back when he buys a macro lens.
[...] After getting several e-mails from friends who read my Blogpost “Wings of Terror Butterfly Conservatory” I wanted to post a follow-up with the surprising verdict! I am not alone!!! In fact, two people that I know told me they also fear butterflies, so I looked up this strange phenomenon known as “Mottephobia” which is actually the fear of moths (I say creepily close enough thank you very much!) It seems that it is not that uncommon, albeit, irrational! [...]
[...] I am no longer afraid of mummies. In fact, my degree is in Anthropology, so I’d have to say that on the contrary, I am actually quite fascinated by them. Hopefully, my son will outgrow his fear of the Dough Boy, because I don’t know if monster spray would work if he was hiding under Liam’s bed. If in fact he doesn’t outgrow this fear, at least I’ll know my fear of butterflies isn’t all that strange afterall! [...]
I am sory you had a bad reaction to butterflies. I hope one day you get over this phobia and can one day return to the conservatory and experence and enjoy in comfort one of the great wonder of nature.
[...] Arboretum where our family enjoys walking and watching nature as often as we can. In a previous post, I wrote about my unusual fear of butterflies and moths (Mottephobia) At least there is a name for [...]