Butterfly Basics

Did you know....

….Butterflies are insects.

….A butterfly’s lifecycle is made up of four parts, egg, larva (caterpillars), pupa (chrysalis) and adult.

….Butterflies attach their eggs to leaves with a special glue.

….Most caterpillars are plant eaters (herbivores).

….A caterpillar’s first meal is its own eggshell. It then spends most of its time eating the leaves of the plant on which it hatched.

….Fully grown caterpillars attach themselves to a suitable twig or leaf before shedding their outside layer of skin to reveal a hard skin underneath known as a chrysalis.

….An adult butterfly will eventually emerge from the chrysalis where it will wait a few hours for its wings to fill with blood and dry, before flying for the first time.

….A butterfly has a small body, made of three parts – the head, thorax and abdomen. Butterflies have two large eyes, which are made of many, many small parts. These are called ‘compound eyes’.

….Butterflies have two antennae on top of their heads, which they use to feel, smell and to hear. A butterfly’s mouth is a long tube, through which it sucks the sweet nectar from flowers. When the butterfly does not want to eat, it rolls the tube up!

....Butterflies have four wings.

….Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet.

….Butterflies have three pairs of legs. Their feet have little claws to help them stand on flowers.

….Butterflies often have brightly colored wings with unique patterns made up of tiny scales, sometimes with a hidden ultraviolet pattern to attract mates or sometimes used for protection.

….Butterflies may also see colors in flowers that are not visible to humans. Mass plantings of a flower are more attractive than just one or two of each. Fragrance in flowers is also important.

….Because butterflies are cold-blooded, they need to warm themselves on cool mornings before they can fly. Add a supply of dark rocks or mass of dark pebbles to collect the morning sun for the butterflies to rest and warm up.

….The average lifespan for an adult butterfly is 20 to 40 days. Some species live no longer than 3 or 4 days; others may live up to six months.

….Scientists estimate that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 different species of butterfly.

….Birdwing butterflies have large, angular wings and fly in a similar way to birds.

….Butterflies are found worldwide except on the continent of Antarctica.

….The greatest threats to butterflies are habitat change and loss of habitat.