by Joan Leotta
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A new butterfly was recently discovered in Italy. It was identified in the woods of the province of Cosenza in Calabria by researchers from CREA, the Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics. The scholars decided to dedicate their discovery to Giulio Regeni, the young researcher from Friuli who was tortured and killed in Egypt in 2016 by christening the insect with the name Diplodoma giulioregenii. —La Voce di New York, February 18, 2025 |
In Calabria, in a forest my grandfather might have once explored, scientists are touting the discovery of a previously unknown species of butterfly—dappled as if its golden wings were brushed by forest shadows, like today’s shadows of poverty, of war. But still, the creature’s alive, beautiful, and new to us, its dappled color perhaps the very reason this unique dna specimen was not noticed earlier. The scientists named it for a young Italian researcher cut down by violence in Cairo in 2016. This butterfly both new life, and momento mori, named for, reminding us of a young man whose joy was in discovering new things, reminding us that the thrill of the discovery of new beauty of gentle creatures like this butterfly whose wings can fan the warm calm air of love over us, if only we open our eyes to search for them. Welcome, we salute you, “Diplodoma giulioregenii” Joan Leotta plays with words on page and stage. She’s been published as essayist, poet, short story writer, novelist, and a two-time nominee for Pushcart and Best of the Net. Her poetry and stories have appeared in Spillwords, One Art, The Ekphrastic Review, The Lake, and many others. She performs folktale programs most often highlighting food, family, and strong women and has just debuted a one-woman show, “Meet Louisa May Alcott, Nurse and a Force in Healing America post Civil War.” Contact joanleotta[at]gmail[dot]com . |
