In the past could butterflies be mistaken for fairies?

No, fairies don’t actually have wings, that is a fictional addition. Dragons are real, and not related to dinosaurs.

When there is ignorance of biology there the shy’s the limit.

dragonflies might have been so mistaken.

Only to children. Small children.

I thought fairies had wings…but they’re not real anyway, never were.

In the past?

@Zaku There was a story in the 19th century of children claiming to see fairies in the forest. I was wondering if they saw butterflies?

@RedDeerGuy1 There was an adult yesterday saying they saw fairies in the forest, too. There’s also a woman who makes and sells fairy thrones for them at local craft fairs.

In the past, not many people wore spectacles and butterflies were often mistaken for fairies.

@yarnlady “No, fairies don’t actually have wings, that is a fictional.” Other than that faries actually exist? ;D

We call fairies aliens now.

Sure, why not. Lots of fantastical, imagination-fueled explanations and identifications of creatures and things in nature long before science and closer observation could explain them.

Heck, a Unicorn could’ve just been a white horse having a bad mane day.

Maybe in Ireland?

I just had a realization that I really have no clue what a “fairy” looked like to people in the Middle Ages. I have this image of Tinker Bell as a kind of Disney template, but it occurred to me that this is perhaps entirely different from the actual historical mythology of fairies. Does anyone have any expertise in this department? They come from the Irish/Gaelic tradition, right?

I’d say perhaps more Celtic and Germanic, but depending on what you include, similar things can be found around the world.

It can be a complex subject.

You could do worse than to start here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy
https://www.britannica.com/art/fairy
https://mythicalencyclopedia.com/fae/
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/The-Origins-of-Fairies/

As for modern notions, there are many sources, but for example:
https://craftofwicca.com/a-complete-guide-to-wiccan-fae-and-fairies/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk

I the old tradition Fairies were human-like beings believed to be able to cross over into “fairyland” which is a parallel world. They sometimes invited people, sometimes abducted them. If you helped a fairy they would gift small pancakes. They could change forms and present themselves as they wished. They were said to mostly take the form of small child-like people. The small winged fairy we all know is a modern take.

Pancakes @Blackwater_Park?? We have to invite some fries to Fluther.