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Unlike most common butterflies, the Lepidotera Mysticas is somewhat noctural seeking stimulation and food during the dusk and evening hours much like its cousin the moth. Although one of the rarest of all butterflies, the Lepidotera Mysticas can be easily distinguished by its unique markings and faint glow. Usually blue in color with white glowing spots, most Lepidotera Mysticas have a crescent moon shaped insignia on their back thorax. Despite its large wingspan, the Lepidotera Mysticas's body weight makes flying awkward and cumbersome for the insect. Each time the wings flap, the butterfly falls a few inches from its previous position. This doesn't seem to bother the small insect much, but it does make movement slow compared with most butterflies. What the Lepidotera Mysticas lacks in speed and mobility, it makes up for with beauty The wing has been referred to as the sould of a butterfly, and as Donald Curloss peattie once wrote, "Upon the slim, six-legged body of the insect, nature, lake a madly inspired couturiere, has tried thousands of fabulous colors and cuts and patterns. Man with all his looms and dyes cannot create anything half so exquisite as a butterfly's wing." The Lepidotera Mysticas has earned several nicknames due to its elaborate wing design. It has been called everything from a Midnight Glory to a Flying Leopard-mainly due to its blue and white spots. Th most common of these however, is the Winged Messanger of Hope due to the phenomenon that most encounters with this unique butterfly leave the viewer with a renewed sense of inspiration and an indescribable feeling of warmth which resonates through out the body.
Even though the Lepidotera Mysticas is extremely rare, most have been found in the Valley of Fire, an equally unique place given its name for the flowers which grow there. The flowers, known as Meadow Lights because of their soft glow, are the main source of food for the Lepidotera Mysticas. Many scholars believe it is through long exposure to the flowers which gives the butterfly its faint glow. Whatever the reason, butterfly enthusiasts ahve been known to camp for days in the Valley of Fire hoping to catch a glimpse of the winged wonder, but Lepidotera Mysticas are like shooting stars, you never know when you are going to see one, but you will always treasure the moment when you do.
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