Have you ever seen butter attract butterflies?

I’ve never observed the phenomenon but that is, perhaps, because I never leave my butter outside where butterflies can get to it. Maybe I’ll give a try and see what happens.

Science time. Every one who has butterflies flocking to your back back yard, put out a bit of butter and see if there are any takers. Do this for one week, then reconnoiter here to exchange observations. I’ll have to be the collator because I have neither a yard nor any butterflies. Time starts NOW!

I’ve seen the salts in urine attract butterflies.

Per a response from @Sunny2 in this thread, the word butterfly may have been a mondogreen (or Spoonerism) at one time.

I was once told – though I can’t find an online reference for it – that those insects were once known as “flutterby”, and someone miscalled it a “butterfly”. That name seemed to stick.

I also read that the original term was flutterby, which became contorted by popular mis-usage into butterfly.

I just looked up the origin of butterfly and it was butterfly. People thought the insects liked butter. The Germans thought they liked cream. As @CWOTUS said, flutterby was a spoonerism. (And it’s so apt.) Google butterfly/flutterby. There are butterfly celebrations.

Possibly helpful: Wiktionary has the word’s etymology listed.

Etymology
Middle English buterflie, butturflye, boterflye, from Old English butorflēoge, buttorflēoge, buterflēoge, perhaps a compound of butor- ‘beater’, mutation of bēatan ‘to beat’, and flēoge ‘fly’.[1] More at beat and fly.
Alternate etymology connects the first element to butere (“butter”), as the name may have originally been applied solely to butterflies of a yellowish or butter-coloured blee. This may have merged later with the belief that butterflies ate milk and butter (compare Middle High German molkendiep (“butterfly”, literally “milk-thief”); Modern German Molkendieb and Low German Botterlicker (“butterfly”, literally “butter-licker”)), or that they excreted a butter-like substance (compare Middle Dutch boterschijte (“butterfly ”, literally “butter-shitter”)). Compare also Middle Dutch botervliege (“butterfly”) (Dutch botervlieg), German Butterfliege (“butterfly”). More at butter, fly.

Hmmm…most people seem to be answering Why are butterflies called butterflies? That answer can be found through a quick google search. Not a spoonerism—though I really dig that word. Many other cultures have a variation of butterfly. (Anglo-Saxons called them butterfloeges.)

I’m curious about the actual phenomenon that created this entomology. Supposedly, they’re attracted to butter. Has anyone seen this?

@syz You’ve seen urine attract butterflies? How do you figure it’s the salt?

It is just that – a myth arised from some misconception in the past.

@ButerFlage
Now I’m wondering what undyed butter looks like. I’m imagining it being purple with orange spots.

Ha. You’re quite welcome, friend.
I was being a little silly though. :)

Kind of amused that a user named ButerFlage answered my question!

@ButerFlage Welcome to Fluther!