The Wings of Hope

The Glanville fritillary is the only butterfly named after a person. “Who is he?” you might ask. The correct question is, “Who is she?”

These beautiful sun-loving butterflies are named after Lady Eleanor Glanville–a tragic figure from 17th-century England. Lady Eleanor started to take an interest in insects during her devastating marriage to Richard Glanville (an abusive and violent man), leading her to discover a new specimen of fritillary in Lincolnshire in 1702.

Lady Eleanor’s own family disputed her will as “nobody who was not deprived of their senses would go in pursuit of butterflies.” Forty years after her death, the Lincolnshire fritillary officially became the Glanville fritillary.

Butterflies work tirelessly as pollinators and eco-indicators. Right now, their population is dwindling due to climate change disrupting seasonal patterns, habitat loss, and the use of pesticides.

As they were for Lady Eleanor, butterflies hold the warmth of spring sun as the guiding light for humanity. We must pay respect and attention to where their wings flap and find the life of hope like Lady Eleanor once did.

This award-winning photograph is from the seventh season, “The Moment”, of the Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) Archive. The Climate Tribe has partnered with HIPA, leveraging the power of photography to inspire global awareness of sustainability and advance climate action.