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BUTTERFLY BASICS

Butterfly families

  • Butterflies and moths are part of one order of insects called the Lepidoptera, which means "scaly wings."
  • There are about 17,000 species of butterflies in the world and 700 species in North America.

    Metamorphosis: From Caterpillar to Butterfly

    Metamorphosis - A changing of form, a transformation.

  • There are two main types of metamorphosis - incomplete and complete.
    Incomplete - The immature nymphs resemble the adult with no wings. On the final molt, the nymphs develop wings and genitalia.
    Complete - The insect develops through distinct body forms: egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis) and adult. Butterflies are an example of complete metamorphosis.
  • Female butterflies lay their eggs - up to 1,600 during her lifetime - only on the type of plant that the particular caterpillar species will eat. This plant is called the host plant or the larval food plant. Four to 10 days later, a caterpillar will emerge from the egg.
  • The role of the caterpillar is to eat, often eating its own eggshell, then move on to devour the larval food plant. Because caterpillars are insects, they have an exoskeleton and have to molt to grow. Depending on the species, a caterpillar will molt four to six times.
  • The final molt of the caterpillar is an amazing process. Using its spinnerets, the caterpillar attaches itself to a plant or other object. It may hang upside down from a pad of silk or spin a thin girdle of silk that supports it in an upward position. Once attached the caterpillar molts again, however, this time, the chrysalis or pupa is produced under the exoskeleton. This is the resting stage of the butterflys life cycle.
  • The butterfly emerges from the pupae case a week to many months later, depending on the season and the species of butterfly. When it emerges, the wings are wrinkled and small. It hangs upside down and pumps hemolymph, insect blood, into the veins of its wings to make them expand. The butterfly cant fly away until its wings are hardened.
  • Now that its wormlike appearance has been shed, the butterfly has four wings, two antennae, compound eyes, which see all the colors we see plus ultraviolet, and six legs. Its mouthpart, proboscis, is now a long, tube-like structure used to drink nectar.
  • The average life span of a butterfly is two weeks, but can be as brief as two days or as long as a year.

    Butterfly Behaviors

  • Basking - Sunlight is the elixir of life for butterflies. They need it to fly. When basking, butterflies position their wings at a right angle to the incoming light. The warmth from basking is transferred to the butterflys thoracic flight muscles. If you watch a butterfly basking, you may notice that they slowly open and close their wings. They are regulating heat absorption and dispersal.
  • Puddling - Groupings of butterflies often congregate at pools and along streams and rivers to extract minerals and nutrients from water and mud. Males need extra salts and amino acids for reproduction.
  • Mating - Once a male finds a potential mate, he flies either above or behind the female, often with an increased fluttering wingbeat. If the female is receptive, the male grasps her with his claspers and transfers a spermatophore. Mating usually lasts several hours and often occurs while the pair is flying.
  • After mating is completed, the male flies off to find another female and the female begins the search for a host plant. The cycle continues&

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