AW: [meteorite-list] Red Rain

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Martin A. writes:

<< I'm not a lepidopterologist, >>

Hola Martin believe it or not, I am an Lepidopterist, well at least an 
amateur for many years !

Your suggestion is also what I immediately thought when I saw the subject in 
my emails.  I don't have time at the moment to look into this, but if anyone 
has some time, during peaks in the population of Painted Lady butterflies 
(_Vanessa cardui_) red rains have appeared and been harbingers of things to come in 
the typical scaring peasants routine like comets, in history on several 
ocassions, as a matter of fact...so wherever this red rain has appeared (I haven't 
been following the thread),it would be easy to check to see if it coincides 
with a population spike and new brood of cardui's.  The Painted Lady is one of 
the few butterflies with nearly a worldwide distribution and seemingly 
migration runs en masse.  For this reason, in the US it has been used in releases in 
weddings (instead of throwing rice:)).  The is a contingent of ecologists that 
oppose this due to claimed changes in local gene pools (mostly for Monarchs).  
Since the butterfly farming industry for weddings (and funerals) took off a 
few years back and most people don't hear the scientists' bellyaching that 
experimental designs are screwed up when taking censuses for experimental work and 
possibly crosscontaminating gene pools and spreading plagues in the local 
butterfly populations with the alien introductions of the same species, the 
biggest appeal not to do this is the blood like liquid and hey if you are getting 
married, why the heck would you risk eith your butterflies express mailed 
arriving dead or secreting "blood".  That works a little better to dampen the 
spirits.

Anyway, sorry if I haven't read the thread enough and if this was already 
discussed in more depth besides Martin's suggestion,

Saludos, Doug