- The butterfly is a beautiful and colorful insect with two pairs of scale covered wings.
- There are more than 17,000 kinds of butterflies in the world.
- Butterflies are good fliers and only fly during the day.
- Butterflies rest with their wings held together vertically above the back over the body.
Features of Butterfly:
- Butterflies have three basic parts like other insects: the head, thorax and abdomen.
- They have slender bodies covered with tiny sensory hairs.
- They also have two pairs of large, scaly wings, which are triangular in shape. They have a pair of forewings and another pair of hind wings supported by veins.
- Their brightly multi-colored wings of butterflies are a feast of colors. They look so attractive, fascinating and heavenly because of these colors.
- Butterflies fly, flutter and enjoy nectar on the flowers at day time.
- Butterflies have compound eyes and a tube-like organ in the mouth for sucking in liquid. Butterflies usually feed on nectar from plants. However, some feed on rotting fruits to sip nutrients from the soil.
- They have a keen sense of taste, smell and sight. They have smelling organs on their antennae. They have noses to smell located on their feet.
- Butterflies “taste” with their feet to find out whether the leaf they are sitting on is acceptable for laying eggs and being their caterpillars’ food.
- They also have scents which play a double purpose of attracting the opposite sex and sending away the predators.
- A group of butterflies is called a flutter.
Habitat:
- Butterflies are found almost everywhere in the world and are native to all continents except Antarctica.
- They can survive in all types of environments: hot or cold, dry or moist, at sea level or high in the mountains.
- Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 30 degree Celsius.
Types:
- Queen Alexandra’s birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world, having a wingspan of 30 centimeters.
- It is native to the rainforests of northern Papua New Guinea and is an endangered species.
- The western pygmy blue butterfly is the smallest butterfly in the world and is found in coastal regions throughout the southern United States.
Life Cycle:
- Butterflies undergo a complete metamorphosis.
- They begin their existence with eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae called caterpillars.
- The caterpillar grows quickly by feeding on plant leaves.
- Inside the cocoon there is a constant change and transformation. When the metamorphosis is complete, the cocoon splits open and the young butterfly emerges.
- The caterpillar develops into a cocoon.
- It may take from a few days to many months for the butterfly to develop to adulthood from an egg.
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