Antique Butterfly Proboscis Microscope Slide - Cabinet of Curiosities

Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities, where we explore history, one curious little object at a time.

Today, we’re taking a look at one of the first—and still my favourite—additions to my collection: an antique microscope slide of a butterfly proboscis.

What exactly is a proboscis, you might ask?

Well, gentle reader, a proboscis is a butterfly’s tongue. In fact, most bugs have them. They’re essentially nature’s bendy straws. Not all insects are bugs, but all bugs have a proboscis.

So... I guess all bugs suck...?

This slide dates from the 1800s—or at least, that’s what the eBay listing claimed—and it remains a mystery I cherish.

I had to rope in my favourite human to help decipher the handwritten label, and after a bit of detective work (read: a Google search), we think the species is Hebomoia glaucippe, also known as the Great Orange-tip.

For my fellow taxonomy lovers, here’s the breakdown:

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Pieridae

Genus: Hebomoia

Species: H. glaucippe

I’m afraid I can’t tell you much more about the slide. It doesn’t have a tidy little narrative attached to it—but I think that’s part of the magic. It’s strange, beautiful, and, well… curious.

Thank you for visiting our Cabinet of Curiosities, we hope to see you again soon!