Category Butterflies

Because of the variety of food sources, more species of butterfly are found in woodlands than in any other habitat.

      Some species of butterfly can be found flying at a low level in shady woodland clearings, while others live high among the treetops. Other species of butterfly live along woodland edges, and in areas where people have cleared forests.

    Some of the examples are The Acadian Hairstreak, the Purple hairstreak, the speckled wood and the comma etc. other examples are the White Admiral, large Tortoiseshell, and the silver-washed Fritillary.

The word ‘temperate’ is used to describe those are as on Earth where temperature is modest.

       The wide variety of flowers in grassland and woodland clearings means that there are plenty of butterflies.

     The caterpillars of grassland butterflies feed on grass found in meadows, and heath lands. There are many varieties of grassland butterflies. Most popular among them are meadow brown, the Aphrodite, the purple shot copper, the Adonis blue etc. the wall butterfly is another grass feeding species commonly found in Europe, Asia and Africa.

The butterfly super family known as Papilionoidea consists of five families. They are named Papilionoidea, pieridae, Lycaenidae, Riodinidae, and Nymphalidae. In other words, all the butterflies except skippers come under this super family.

      The Papilionoidea family members are collectively known as swallowtails. Butterflies in the Pieridae family are whites, orange tips, brimstones and sulphurs. The majority of them are either red or brown or blue in colour.

     The third family, Lycaenidae, is the largest family of all with some 6000 or more species. They are mostly found in tropical areas, but they can be seen in other parts of the world too.

     The fourth sub family Nymphalidae is also very large, like the third subfamily with more than 6000 species.

Although butterflies are one of the most widely studied insect groups, there is no uniform method to classify them.

        The Symposium of the Royal Entomological Society of London subdivided butterflies into two super-families – the Hesperioidea and the Papilionoidea.

       The first group that is the Hesperioidea has only one family. Skippers as they popularly known, are very good fliers. They are called so because of their ability to fly very fast. They are very similar to moths. Many skippers are dull in colour, like moths. Their larvae feed on a lot of food plants. They rest as pupa in the cocoon, where pieces of dried up leaves are mixed.

Some butterflies have physical defenses. This behavior is common among caterpillars in temperate countries. An example of such a caterpillar is the Nymphalis. If somebody disturbs such caterpillars, they react in unison by lifting their heads up, and thrashing them from side to side to display anger. This method is useful in scaring smaller predators.

      Spines are also an important part of butterflies’ that they use to defend themselves from other wasps and flies. Aposematism or denoting colouration or markings that serves to warn the markings that serves to warn the predators is another good way to frighten away enemies

        The common Mormon of India has female morphs which imitate the unpalatable red-bodies swallowtails, the common rose, and the crimson roes.

Some butterfly species mimic their neighboring poisonous species to ward off the predators. They often mimic their neighboring species by copying the latter’s colour pattern, along with producing an unpleasant smell and taste.

        Birds and other predators that are familiar with the warning patterns or bright colours of the harmful species mistake these imitator butterflies for their harmful counterparts and go away.

        One such species of butterflies which is good at mimicking is the Ecuador small postman butterfly, which imitates its equally poisonous rainforest neighbor the Ecuador postman butterfly.

Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. They suck nectar and other liquids through a small pipe under their heads. This small pipe is called ‘proboscis’. They sip water from damp patches for hydration, and feed on nectar from flowers to obtain sugar for energy.

       Some butterflies get nourished by pollen, tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, and dissolved minerals in wet sand, or dirt. Butterflies are pollinators for some species of plants.

      Usually, they do not carry as much pollen load as bees. However, they are capable of transporting pollen over a great distance.

       Some butterflies visit only certain flowers, and avoid others. This phenomenon is called flower constancy. Attracted by the salt in human sweat, sometimes butterflies even land on people.

Butterflies protect themselves from predators through the plants to protect themselves from enemies. This has led to the evolution of bright colours in unpalatable butterflies.

      Camouflage is another technique that butterflies use to escape from their enemies. Camouflage is the technique of blending with the colour of the surrounding to hide from enemies.

      We all might have seen butterflies that look like the leaf of a tree, or a twig in a branch. Such varieties as the oak leaf butterfly and autumn leaf butterfly use this camouflage technique.

     Some others have deimat-ic behavior, such as waving their front ends marked with eyespots as if they were snakes.

Butterflies are very good fliers. They have two pairs of large wings covered with scales. Their wings are attached to the thorax. Veins support the wings, and ensure the blood supply.

      Butterflies can fly only if their body temperature is above sudden landings. Speed varies among butterfly species. Poisonous varieties are slower than non-poisonous varieties.

Butterflies use their antennae to sense the air for wind and scents. The antennae contain sensory organs known as sensilae.

       The shape, colour, and structure of the antennae vary from species to species, even though their function remains the same. Butterflies that belong to the family Hesperidia have their antenna tip; modified into a narrow, hook like projection. These butterflies are popularly known as skippers.

     Butterflies taste their food with the help of sensory cells called chemoreceptors, located on their feet.

     Many butterflies use chemical signals, called pheromones. Vision is well developed in butterflies, and most species are sensitive to the ultraviolet spectrum.

    Some species of butterflies have colour vision. Some have organs of hearing, and some others make stimulatory and clocking sounds.

Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. They suck nectar and other liquids through a small pipe under their heads. This small pipe is called ‘proboscis’. They sip water from damp patches for hydration, and feed on nectar from flowers to obtain sugar for energy.

       Some butterflies get nourished by pollen, tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, and dissolved minerals in wet sand, or dirt. Butterflies are pollinators for some species of plants.

      Usually, they do not carry as much pollen load as bees. However, they are capable of transporting pollen over a great distance.

       Some butterflies visit only certain flowers, and avoid others. This phenomenon is called flower constancy. Attracted by the salt in human sweat, sometimes butterflies even land on people.

The transformation of a pupa into a butterfly has always been a wonder to mankind. At the end of its lifecycle, the butterfly cracks open the pupa and come out. But a newly emerged butterfly cannot fly away soon as it comes out. It needs to wait for almost an hour to grow its wings.

     During this time, it is extremely vulnerable to predators, since it cannot fly. The pupal wings undergo rapid cell divisions, and absorb a great deal of nutrients. Once it has grown wings, a new butterfly flies to a plant, or any other food source, for its first meal. Thus, the life of an adult butterfly begins

The pupa-stage is the third phase in the life-cycle of a butterfly. It is in this phase that a pupa gets transformed into a butterfly. A butterfly pupa is commonly known as a chrysalis, and it is often found on the underside of a leaf, or in other concealed locations. Even though the pupa seems lifeless on the surface, amazing changes in fact take place inside the pupal skin. During this stage, the pupa is more vulnerable to predators, as it cannot move.

       Hence, the pupae camouflage themselves with the colour and texture of their surroundings to prevent detection by enemies.

    The span of time that a pupa spends in this stage varies from weeks to months, depending upon its species. There are other types of pupae which are very bright in colour. Most of these pupae are usually poisonous.

The caterpillar stage is one of the most important stages in a butterfly’s life. This stage is also known as the feeding stage.

     Caterpillars, consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their times in searching for, and eating food. Although most caterpillars are herbivorous, a few species are carnivorous, like the Spalgis epius butterfly which eats scale insects.

    During this stage, caterpillars are very active, so they need food and oxygen to grow and remain alive. Caterpillars mature through a series of developmental stages known as instars. They do not have lungs like mammals. Hence they breathe in air through tiny holes called spiracles, at the sides of their bodies.

       They get a sense of direction due to the sense organ in their head.

Butterflies lay almost a thousand eggs, but only a few of them survive. Most female butterflies lay eggs on leaves.

     A few of them release their eggs while flying. One such example is the grass feeding butterflies. Some species lay one egg at a time, others lay eggs in a small clusters, while others lay hundreds at a time.

     First, the female butterflies choose the correct food plant for their caterpillars. Then they walk on the leaves carefully, to make sure it belongs to the right plant species. The newly laid eggs are yellowish-white in colour. The eggs are protected by a hard-ridged outer layer of shell, called the chorion. This is lined with a coating of wax, which prevents the egg from drying out before the larva has had time to fully develop.

    The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies, but eggs laid close to winter, go through a resting stage, and the hatching may take place only in spring

The butterfly has a wonderful life cycle which has four different stages. From an egg, it becomes a caterpillar, then a pupa, and finally, a butterfly.

       Butterflies in their first stage look completely different from the final stage. Fully grown butterflies lay eggs on the food plant. Their larvae, also known as caterpillars, feed from these plants. They may eat once or twice their own weight in leaves each day. The caterpillars grow very fast. They may shed their skins four or five times.

        When they become fully developed, they enter the third stage in their life cycle, called pupa. It’s a state of complete rest. Different types of caterpillars pupate in different ways. Some rest in their cocoons, which they make using thread from their mouths. Others hide in hollow parts of trees. The pupa stage may last from weeks to months.

      It is during this pupa stage, that the caterpillar grows into a beautiful butterfly. When it comes out, it will be wet. After its wings have expanded and dries, it flies away immediately.

      Some types of butterflies in the tropical areas have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation. In some cold regions, it takes them several years to complete their whole life cycle

Even though both butterflies and dragonflies are insects, both of them belong to different orders. Butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera and dragonflies belong to the order Odonata.

      Butterflies and dragonflies differ in their life cycles. They also differ in their choices of habitat, diet, and morphology. Butterflies can be found in various environments ranging from rainforests to mountains.

      Dragonflies like to be around moist areas such as wetlands, ponds, streams, and lakes. Butterflies will uncoil their proboscis or feeding tube and drink nectar from flowers, whereas dragonflies much prefer flying insects like bees.

          Dragonflies have two pairs of wings that are transparent, straight, and have few veins. But the wings of butterflies are scaly

Butterflies are insects that belong to an order named Lepidoptera, which includes moths too.

      Even though butterflies belong to the ‘insect’ category, they are significantly different from other insects. All insects have three main divisions to their bodies: head, thorax, and abdomen. Insects have their skeleton around the bodies, not inside them, like the mammals.

      Structurally, butterflies are like all other insects, but their most important difference is the scale covering on wings and body. Unlike other insects, they also have the ability to coil up their feeding tube, or proboscis. All insects have six legs attached to the thorax, although some butterflies have shortened front legs.

     The world’s most abundant creatures are the insects, whose known species outnumber all other animals and the plants combined.

Butterflies are known as flying flowers because of their colorful bodies and wings.

     They come under the category of ‘insect’. A butterfly has six legs, four wings, and two antennae.

      The thin, delicate lines that make them colorful are called scales. Most butterflies are harmless. You can find butterflies every-where in the world, except Antarctica. Butterflies are also an important part of nature because they make the flowers bloom by cross pollination. Cross pollination means, pollinating a flower or plant with pollen from another flower or plant.