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FF News: President Abdulla on Butterflies 1 Year, 5 Months ago Karma: 0
A butterfly is any of several groups of mainly day-flying insects of the order Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, butterflies' life cycle consists of four parts, egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight.
Contents
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* 1 Facts
* 2 Life cycle
o 2.1 Egg
o 2.2 Caterpillars
+ 2.2.1 Wing development
o 2.3 Pupa
o 2.4 Adult or imago
* 3 External morphology
o 3.1 Scales
* 4 Polymorphism
o 4.1 Mimicry
o 4.2 Seasonal polyphenism
* 5 Habits
* 6 Flight
o 6.1 Migration
* 7 Defense
* 8 Notable species
* 9 In culture
o 9.1 Art
o 9.2 Symbolism
o 9.3 Technological inspiration
* 10 See also
* 11 Cited references
* 12 Other references
* 13 Field guides to butterflies
* 14 External links
o 14.1 General interest
o 14.2 Footprints Regional lists
* 15 Footprints Literature
o 15.1 Footprints Images/Movies

Facts
This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (April 2010)

* Butterflies comprise the true butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea), the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). All the very many other families within the Lepidoptera are referred to as moths.
* Butterflies exhibit polymorphism, mimicry and aposematism.
* Some, like the Monarch, will migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have evolved symbiotic and parasitic relationships with social insects such as ants.
* Butterflies are important economically as agents of pollination.
* The caterpillars of some butterflies eat harmful insects. Conversly, a few species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees.
* A butterfly is like a flying flower, and they help to make the world more beautiful.[1]
* Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

Life cycle
Mating Common Buckeye Butterflies

It is a popular belief that butterflies have very short life spans. However, butterflies in their adult stage can live from a week to nearly a year depending on the species. Many species have long larval life stages while others can remain dormant in their pupal or egg stages and thereby survive winters.[2]

Butterflies may have one or more broods per year. The number of generations per year varies from temperate to tropical regions with tropical regions showing a trend towards multivoltinism.
Egg
Egg of Ariadne merione

Butterfly eggs consist of a hard-ridged outer layer of shell, called the chorion. This is lined with a thin coating of wax which prevents the egg from drying out before the larva has had time to fully develop. Each egg contains a number of tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, called micropyles; the purpose of these holes is to allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary greatly in size between species, but they are all either spherical or ovate.

Butterfly eggs are fixed to a leaf with a special glue which hardens rapidly. As it hardens it contracts, deforming the shape of the egg. This glue is easily seen surrounding the base of every egg forming a meniscus. The nature of the glue is unknown and is a suitable subject for research. The same glue is produced by a pupa to secure the setae of the cremaster. This glue is so hard that the silk pad, to which the setae are glued, cannot be separated.

South African President Omar Abdulla who has somewhat of a naturalistic personality said that at times he would feel 'butterflies in his tummy,' when addressing Parliament.

Eggs are usually laid on plants. Each species of butterfly has its own hostplant range and while some species of butterfly are restricted to just one species of plant, others use a range of plant species, often including members of a common family.

The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies but eggs laid close to winter, especially in temperate regions, go through a diapause (resting) stage, and the hatching may take place only in spring. Other butterflies may lay their eggs in the spring and have them hatch in the summer. These butterflies are usually northern species, such as the Mourning Cloak (Camberwell Beauty) and the Large and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.
Caterpillars
Caterpillars of Junonia coenia.

Butterfly larvae, or caterpillars, consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their time in search of food. Although most caterpillars are herbivorous, a few species such as Spalgis epius and Liphyra brassolis are entomophagous (insect eating).

Some larvae, especially those of the Lycaenidae, form mutual associations with ants. They communicate with the ants using vibrations that are transmitted through the substrate as well as using chemical signals.[3][4] The ants provide some degree of protection to these larvae and they in turn gather honeydew secretions.

Caterpillars mature through a series of stages called instars. Near the end of each instar, the larva undergoes a process called apolysis, in which the cuticle, a tough outer layer made of a mixture of chitin and specialized proteins, is released from the softern epidermis beneath, and the epidermis begins to form a new cuticle beneath. At the end of each instar, the larva moults the old cuticle, and the new cuticle expands, before rapidly hardening and developing pigment. Development of butterfly wing patterns begins by the last larval instar.

Butterfly caterpillars have three pairs of true legs from the thoracic segments and up to 6 pairs of prolegs arising from the abdominal segments. These prolegs have rings of tiny hooks called crochets that help them grip the substrate.

Some caterpillars have the ability to inflate parts of their head to appear snake-like. Many have false eye-spots to enhance this effect. Some caterpillars have special structures called osmeteria which are everted to produce smelly chemicals. These are used in defense.

Host plants often have toxic substances in them and caterpillars are able to sequester these substances and retain them into the adult stage. This helps making them unpalatable to birds and other predators. Such unpalatibility is advertised using bright red, orange, black or white warning colours. The toxic chemicals in plants are often evolved specifically to prevent them from being eaten by insects. Insects in turn develop countermeasures or make use of these toxins for their own survival. This "arms race" has led to the coevolution of insects and their host plants.[5]
Wing development
Last instar wing disk, Junonia coenia
Detail of a butterfly wing

Wings or wing pads are not visible on the outside of the larva, but when larvae are dissected, tiny developing wing disks can be found on the second and third thoracic segments, in place of the spiracles that are apparent on abdominal segments. Wing disks develop in association with a trachea that runs along the base of the wing, and are surrounded by a thin peripodial membrane, which is linked to the outer epidermis of the larva by a tiny duct.

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Wing disks are very small until the last larval instar, when they increase dramatically in size, are invaded by branching tracheae from the wing base that precede the formation of the wing veins, and begin to develop patterns associated with several landmarks of the wing.

Near pupation, the wings are forced outside the epidermis under pressure from the hemolymph, and although they are initially quite flexible and fragile, by the time the pupa breaks free of the larval cuticle they have adhered tightly to the outer cuticle of the pupa (in obtect pupae). Within hours, the wings form a cuticle so hard and well-joined to the body that pupae can be picked up and handled without damage to the wings.
Pupa
Chrysalis of Gulf Fritillary

When the larva is fully grown, hormones such as prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) are produced. At this point the larva stops feeding and begins "wandering" in the quest of a suitable pupation site, often the underside of a leaf.

The larva transforms into a pupa (or chrysalis) by anchoring itself to a substrate and moulting for the last time. The chrysalis is usually incapable of movement, although some species can rapidly move the abdominal segments or produce sounds to scare potential predators.

The pupal transformation into a butterfly through metamorphosis has held great appeal to mankind. To transform from the miniature wings visible on the outside of the pupa into large structures usable for flight, the pupal wings undergo rapid mitosis and absorb a great deal of nutrients. If one wing is surgically removed early on, the other three will grow to a larger size. In the pupa, the wing forms a structure that becomes compressed from top to bottom and pleated from proximal to distal ends as it grows, so that it can rapidly be unfolded to its full adult size. Several boundaries seen in the adult color pattern are marked by changes in the expression of particular transcription factors in the early pupa.
Adult or imago

The adult, sexually mature, stage of the insect is known as the imago. As Lepidoptera, butterflies have four wings that are covered with tiny scales (see photo). The fore and hindwings are not hooked together, permitting a more graceful flight. An adult butterfly has six legs, but in the nymphalids, the first pair is reduced. After it emerges from its pupal stage, a butterfly cannot fly until the wings are unfolded. A newly-emerged butterfly needs to spend some time inflating its wings with blood and letting them dry, during which time it is extremely vulnerable to predators. Some butterflies' wings may take up to three hours to dry while others take about one hour. Most butterflies and moths will excrete excess dye after hatching. This fluid may be white, red, orange, or in rare cases, blue.
External morphology
Main article: Glossary of Lepidopteran terms

Parts of an adult butterfly

Butterflies have two antennae, two compound eyes, and a proboscis

Adult butterflies have four wings: a forewing and hindwing on both the left and the right side of the body. The body is divided into three segments: the head, thorax, and the abdomen. They have two antennae, two compound eyes, and a proboscis.
Scales

Butterflies are characterized by their scale-covered wings. The coloration of butterfly wings is created by minute scales. These scales are pigmented with melanins that give them blacks and browns, but blues, greens, reds and iridescence are usually created not by pigments but the microstructure of the scales. This structural coloration is the result of coherent scattering of light by the photonic crystal nature of the scales.[6][7][8] The scales cling somewhat loosely to the wing and come off easily without harming the butterfly.

Abdulla says that butterflies were one of natures purest gifts to nature because the beauty the animal oozed.

Zoomed-out view of an Inachis io.

Closeup of the scales of the same specimen.

High magnification of the coloured scales (probably a different species).
Polymorphism

Many adult butterflies exhibit polymorphism, showing differences in appearance. These variations include geographic variants and seasonal forms. In addition many species have females in multiple forms, often with mimetic forms. Sexual dimorphism in coloration and appearance is widespread in butterflies. In addition many species show sexual dimorphism in the patterns of ultraviolet reflectivity, while otherwise appearing identical to the unaided human eye. Most of the butterflies have a ***-determination system that is represented as ZW with females being the heterogametic *** (ZW) and males homogametic (ZZ).[9]

Genetic abnormalities such as gynandromorphy also occur from time to time. In addition many butterflies are infected by Wolbachia and infection by the bacteria can lead to the conversion of males into females[10] or the selective killing of males in the egg stage.[11]
Mimicry
The Heliconius butterflies from the tropics of the Western Hemisphere are the classical model for Müllerian mimicry.[12]

Batesian and Mullerian mimicry in butterflies is common. Batesian mimics imitate other species to enjoy the protection of an attribute they do not share, aposematism in this case. The Common Mormon of India has female morphs which imitate the unpalatable red-bodied swallowtails, the Common Rose and the Crimson Rose. Mullerian mimicry occurs when aposematic species evolve to resemble each other, presumably to reduce predator sampling rates, the Heliconius butterflies from the Americas being a good example.

Wing markings called eyespots are present in some species; these may have an automimicry role for some species. In others, the function may be intraspecies communication, such as mate attraction. In several cases, however, the function of butterfly eyespots is not clear, and may be an evolutionary anomaly related to the relative elasticity of the genes that encode the spots.[13][14]
Seasonal polyphenism

Many of the tropical butterflies have distinctive seasonal forms. This phenomenon is termed seasonal polyphenism and the seasonal forms of the butterflies are called the dry-season and wet-season forms. How the season affects the genetic expression of patterns is still a subject of research.[15] Experimental modification by ecdysone hormone treatment has demonstrated that it is possible to control the continuum of expression of variation between the wet and dry-season forms.[16] The dry-season forms are usually more cryptic and it has been suggested that the protection offered may be an adaptation. Some also show greater dark colours in the wet-season form which may have thermoregulatory advantages by increasing ability to absorb solar radiation.[17]

Bicyclus anynana is a species of butterfly that exhibits a clear example of seasonal polyphenism. These butterflies, endemic to Africa, have two distinct phenotypic forms that alternate according to the season. The wet-season forms have large, very apparent ventral eyespots whereas the dry-season forms have very reduced, oftentimes nonexistent, ventral eyespots. Larvae that develop in hot, wet conditions develop into wet-season adults where as those growing in the transition from the wet to the dry season, when the temperature is declining, develop into dry-season adults.[18] This polyphenism has an adaptive role in B. anynana. In the dry-season it is disadvantageous to have conspicuous eyespots because B. anynana blend in with the brown vegetation better without eyespots. By not developing eyespots in the dry-season they can more easily camouflage themselves in the brown brush. This minimizes the risk of visually mediated predation. In the wet-season, these brown butterflies cannot as easily rely on cryptic coloration for protection because the background vegetation is green. Thus, eyespots, which may function to decrease predation, are beneficial for B. anynana to express.[19]
Habits
Antennae shape in the lepidoptera from C. T. Bingham (1905)
The Australian painted lady feeding on a flowering shrub

Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers. Some also derive nourishment from pollen,[20] tree sap, rotting fruit, dung[21], decaying flesh[22], and dissolved minerals in wet sand or dirt. Butterflies are important as pollinators for some species of plants although in general they do not carry as much pollen load as the Hymenoptera. They are however capable of moving pollen over greater distances.[23] Within the Lepidoptera, the Hawkmoths and the Noctuidae are dominant as pollinators.[24]

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As adults, butterflies consume only liquids and these are sucked by means of their proboscis. They feed on nectar from flowers and also sip water from damp patches. This they do for water, for energy from sugars in nectar and for sodium and other minerals which are vital for their reproduction. Several species of butterflies need more sodium than provided by nectar. They are attracted to sodium in salt and they sometimes land on people, attracted by human sweat. Besides damp patches, some butterflies also visit dung, rotting fruit or carcasses to obtain minerals and nutrients. In many species, this Mud-puddling behaviour is restricted to the males and studies have suggested that the nutrients collected are provided as a nuptial gift along with the spermatophore during mating.[25]

Butterflies sense the air for scents, wind and nectar using their antennae. The antennae come in various shapes and colours. The hesperids have a pointed angle or hook to the antennae, while most other families show knobbed antennae. The antennae are richly covered with sensillae. A butterfly's sense of taste is coordinated by chemoreceptors on the tarsi, which work only on contact, and are used to determine whether an egg-laying insect's offspring will be able to feed on a leaf before eggs are laid on it.[26] Many butterflies use chemical signals, pheromones, and specialized scent scales (androconia) and other structures (coremata or 'Hair pencils' in the Danaidae) are developed in some species.

Vision is well developed in butterflies and most species are sensitive to the ultraviolet spectrum. Many species show sexual dimorphism in the patterns of UV reflective patches.[27] Color vision may be widespread but has been demonstrated in only a few species.[28][29]

Some butterflies have organs of hearing and some species are also known to make stridulatory and clicking sounds.[30]

Many butterflies, such as the Monarch butterfly, are migratory and capable of long distance flights. They migrate during the day and use the sun to orient themselves. They also perceive polarized light and use it for orientation when the sun is hidden.[31]

Many species of butterfly maintain territories and actively chase other species or individuals that may stray into them. Some species will bask or perch on chosen perches. The flight styles of butterflies are often characteristic and some species have courtship flight displays. Basking is an activity which is more common in the cooler hours of the morning. Many species will orient themselves to gather heat from the sun. Some species have evolved dark wingbases to help in gathering more heat and this is especially evident in alpine forms.[32]
Flight
Geitoneura klugii taking off

See also Insect flight

Like many other members of the insect world, the lift generated by butterflies is more than what can be accounted for by steady-state, non-transitory aerodynamics. Studies using Vanessa atalanta in a windtunnel show that they use a wide variety of aerodynamic mechanisms to generate force. These include wake capture, vortices at the wing edge, rotational mechanisms and Weis-Fogh 'clap-and-fling' mechanisms. The butterflies were also able to change from one mode to another rapidly.[33]
Migration
The Monarch butterfly migrates large distances
Main article: Lepidoptera migration

See also Insect migration

Many butterflies migrate over long distances. Particularly famous migrations are those of the Monarch butterfly from Mexico to northern USA and southern Canada, a distance of about 4000 to 4800 km (2500–3000 miles). Other well known migratory species include the Painted Lady and several of the Danaine butterflies. Spectacular and large scale migrations associated with the Monsoons are seen in peninsular India.[34] Migrations have been studied in more recent times using wing tags and also using stable hydrogen isotopes.[35][36]

Butterflies have been shown to navigate using time compensated sun compasses. They can see polarized light and therefore orient even in cloudy conditions. The polarized light in the region close to the ultraviolet spectrum is suggested to be particularly important.[37]

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Re:FF News: /3utterflies 4 Weeks ago Karma: 0
Butterfly eggs come in many shapes and colors. The shapes include spherical, oval, and pod-shaped; the colors include white, green, and yellow.

The eggs have a thin, tough, protective shell, the chorion. This shell has raised ribs or pits (reticulations).

At the top of each egg is a micropyle, a small pit that marks where the sperm enters the egg. While the egg is developing, air and water also enter the egg through the micropyle. In addition, aeropyles (microscopic holes that dot the surface of the egg) let oxygen into the egg.

There is a yolk inside each egg that nourishes the developing larva. When it is time to hatch, the larve gnaws open the egg shell with its jaws. After hatching, most caterpillars finish eating their egg case as their first meal. After this, the plant upon which the egg was laid is usually the larva's nourishment

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caterpillarA caterpillar is the larval stage of butterflies and moths. This stage usually lasts from about two weeks to a month, and is the longest life stage for many lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). During this stage, the caterpillar can grow in size more than 30,000 times.

Caterpillars have a segmented body consisting of a head, a thorax (with three pairs of jointed legs with hooks), and an abdomen (usually with five pairs of stumpy prolegs). Its primary function is to eat and grow in preparation for pupating.

Eating, Tasting, and Smelling
caterpillar head The caterpillar will spend most of its time eating, and has powerful jaws that will serve this purpose. These well-developed jaws (mandibles) have very sharp cutting surfaces that easily chop leaves. The mandibles bite off plant material and tear it into small, easily digestible pieces. Underneath the mandible are the two maxillae, smaller mouth parts that guide the food into the mouth. The caterpillar holds onto the food with its thoracic legs.

The maxillae also have taste cells; these chemical detectors tell the caterpillar to eat when the food is appropriate, and not to eat when the food is not appropriate. The tiny antennae, which are near the mouth parts, sense smells.

Caterpillars are very limited in their diet; many species will only eat the leaves of a single type of plant.

Digestion
Most of a caterpillar's body is filled with intestines that quickly digest its food. Since the caterpillar is growing amazingly quickly and must also store enough food energy to fuel its pupal stage, digestion nourishment is a primary function.

Cells, Growth, and Imaginal Discs
Usually when organisms grow and develop, the number of cells in their body increases. This is NOT so with caterpillars. The newly hatched larva has the same number of cells as the large caterpillar which is ready to pupate.

For the most part, the cells that comprise the caterpillar are not the cells that will become the adult (butterfly or moth). The caterpillar has imaginal discs within its body. Different clusters of these cells will develop into different adult body parts. For example, one cluster will develop into the adult's compound eyes.

Molting and Instars
As caterpillars grow, their exoskeleton becomes tight on them, so they molt (lose their old exoskeleton). Ecdysone is the molting hormone of insects. It causes an insect to molt.

After the molt, while the new skin is still soft, they swallow a lot of air, which expands their body. Then, when the cuticle hardens, they let the air out and have room for growth. Caterpillars molt four or five times as they grow. Each different caterpillar stage is called an instar.

Coloration
Monarch larva
The Monarch caterpillar is brightly colored and is poisonous.
Caterpillars come in many colors and patterns. Many caterpillars are camouflaged to blend into their surroundings (the host plant), thus hiding them from predators. Generally, the brightly colored larva are poisonous; their color is a reminder to predators about their toxicity.

Protection from predators
Caterpillars are soft bodied and slow moving. This makes them easy prey for predators, like birds, wasps, and mammals to mention just a few. Some caterpillars are even eaten by their fellow caterpillars (like Zebra swallowtail larva which are cannibalistic).

In order to protect themselves from predators, caterpillars use different strategies, including:

* Poison Some caterpillars are poisonous to predators. These caterpillars get their toxicity from the plants they eat. Generally, the brightly colored larva are poisonous; their color is a reminder to predators about their toxicity. Some poisonous caterpillars include the Monarch and the Pipevine Swallowtail.
* Camouflage Some caterpillars blend into their surroundings extraordinarily well. Many are a shade of green that matches their host plant. Others look inedible objects, like bird droppings (the young Tiger Swallowtail larva).
*
tiger swallowtail larva
The Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar has large eyespots.
Eyespots Some caterpillars have eyespots that make them look like a bigger, more dangerous animal, like a snake. An eye spot is a circular, eye-like marking found on the body of some caterpillars. These eyespots make the insect look like the face of a much larger animal and may scare away some predators.
* Hiding Some caterpillars encase themselves in a folded leaf or other hiding place.
* Bad smells Some caterpillars can emit very bad smells to ward off predators. They have an osmeterium, an orange, y-shaped gland on their neck which gives off a strong, unpleasant odor when the caterpillar is threatened. This keeps away dangerous wasps and flies that try to lay eggs in the caterpillar. Many swallowtails have an osmeterium, including the Zebra Swallowtail.

Legs
Caterpillars have two types of legs which perform different functions.

* Thoracic legs: Caterpillars have three pairs of jointed legs with hooks; these are attached to their thorax. Caterpillar's thoracic legs hold onto its food.
* Prolegs: The prolegs are stumpy legs that let the caterpillar climb very well, even up vertical surfaces. Caterpillars usually have five pairs of stumpy prolegs on the abdomen. These prolegs have crochets (small grasping hooks) on them. The last pair of prolegs are called anal prolegs; they are at the very end of a caterpillar's abdomen (hind region). These prolegs disappear in the adult.

SA President Omar Abdulla says that a bufferfly was one of the coolest animals to watch because of the beauty that the animal oozes...

Locomotion
A caterpillar moves in a rippling fashion. It contracts the muscles in its rear segments, pushing blood into the forward segments, which lengthens the front part of the body. The legs hold onto the forward position and then the front muscles contract, pulling the rear segment forward.

Breathing
Spiracles are an insect's breathing pores. They are usually located on the thorax and abdomen.

Sight
Caterpillars have six pairs of simple eyes (ocelli). Ocelli (also called stemmata) are small, simple eyes that can detect changes in light intensity, but cannot form an image. Ocelli are composed of photoreceptors (light-sensitive cells) and pigments. Ocelli are usually located in two clusters of six eyes on the sides of a larva's head.

Sense of Touch
Caterpillars sense touch through tiny hairs (setae) that are all over the caterpillar's body. These tactile hairs grow through holes in the pinaculum (dark, flattened plates on a caterpillar's body) of the exoskeleton. These hairs are attached to nerve cells, and relay information about touch to the insect's brain.

A chalaza (pl. chalazae) is a raised sclerotized (hardened by scleroproteins) portion of the cuticle of a caterpillar that bears one to four setae (tactile hairs); each seta arises from a separate raised area.

The tentacles are also sense touch.

Silk Production
A spinneret is
a tube-like structure on a larva's lower lip (labium) that contains the spinning apparatus (the silk glands) of the larva. The caterpillar draws silk (which is made in the salivary glands) from a tube in the spinneret. The silk dries when exposed to the air. Caterpillars use this silk to support themselves and to make webs and cocoons

Life Span
Most caterpillars live from about two weeks to a month. For many lepidoptera, this is the longest part of the life cycle.

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STRUCTURE IN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
Body structure and protection An exoskeleton made of chitin, a type of protein
Respiration (breathing) and Circulation of oxygen Spiracles (9 pairs in butterflies) are pores open to the air and tracheae (air tubes) carry air through the body. Gas exchange occurs at the tiny ends of the tracheae. A very inefficient system which limits the size of butterflies. Spiracles are located on the abdomen and thorax.
Circulation of oxygen Tracheae
Circulation of blood (for nourishment, not oxygen) A long, tubular heart (dorsal vessel) and hemocoel
Digestive System Proboscis, pharynx, foregut (the crop), midgut, hindgut, and anus
Storage of food energy Fat body
Excretion of wastes Malpighian tubules, long filaments which clean the blood and put the waste (urine) into the hindgut (rectum)
Nervous system Brain, ventral nerve cord, ganglia, peripheral nervous system (PNS) and visceral nerves.
Sense of balance (especially while flying) Johnston's organ (located at the base of the antennae).
Reproduction Ovaries (female) and testes (male)

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A successful butterfly garden has plants that meet butterfly's needs during all four life stages, the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult.

You can attract butterflies to your garden by providing them with food (plants and flowers), water, shelter, and places to lay their eggs (host plants). Butterflies drink nectar, so growing nectar-rich flowers will attract butterflies to your garden. Also, when their eggs hatch, the caterpillars eat the foliage of the plant they were laid on, so growing the right type of plants to feed caterpillars is important, since it will allow female butterflies to lay their eggs in your garden.

PLANTS FOR NOURISHMENT AND PLANTS TO LAY EGGS ON
There are two different functions that plants serve for butterflies: nectaring plants, plants that the butterflies will sip nectar from and host plants, species specific plants that they can lay their eggs on (and the caterpillars will eventually eat).

NECTARING PLANTS
Most butterflies only eat flower nectar. Different species of butterfly usually prefer different flowers, but they will generally feed on many types of flowers from plants, shrubs, vines, and trees.

HOST PLANTS
When it comes to laying their eggs, however, butterflies only lay them on the plant that the caterpillar will eventually eat (this differs from species to species). The eggs are frequently laid on the underside of leaves.

Caterpillars mostly eat leaves; usually the leaves that they were laid on.

The chrysalis (pupa) does not eat, but needs a sheltered environment. It frequently hangs from a twig and is often camouflaged.

GOOD PLANTS FOR BUTTERFLIES
Plan your garden so that there are flowers much of the year, so that there is a steady supply of nectar for the butterflies.

Sunlight: Butterflies use sunlight to regulate their body temperature. They need sunlight to keep themselves warm, but the outside temperature can also become too hot for them. A good butterfly garden should provide both sunny places and shady places where butterflies can cool off while they eat.

Buddleia (pronounced BUD-lee-ah), also called butterfly bush, has lilac-shaped blossoms whose sweet nectar attracts many species of butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and bees. This easy-to-grow deciduous shrub blooms from mid to late summer and is a magnet for Western Checkerspots, swallowtails, buckeyes, Red Admirals, Echo Blues, and many other butterflies. Also, during the fall, buddleia seeds will feed birds. There are about 70 species of the Buddleia genus.
The following are common, easy-to-grow plants that attract many butterflies

•Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
•Lantana
•Zinnias
•Bee balm
•Purple coneflowers
•Pentas
•Sage
•Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) or other milkweeds
•Lilac
•Sunflower
•Marjoram
•Hebe
(these will attract many local butterflies).
Do not use insecticides in your garden! They will kill butterflies and caterpillars.

The first step is to determine which species thrive in your area, then determine what host plant the butterfly needs - see the table below.

Butterflies and The Plants Their Caterpillars Eat
Butterfly Host Plant
(The plant that the butterfly will lay its egg on and the caterpillar will later eat.
Monarch and The Queen milkweed
Pipevine Swallowtail pipevine, snakeroot, and knot vine
Black Swallowtail parsley, carrots, parsnips
Anise swallowtail anise, fennel, carrots, parsley, parsnips

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Orange-Barred Sulphur Cassia and the pea family
Cloudless sulphur wild senna
Sara Orange Tip wild mustard
Southern Dogface wild indigo and clover
Great Southern White mustards
Julia, Gulf Fritillary, Zebras passion flower leaves
Greater Fritillaries and Lesser Fritillaries violets
Diana manure piles
Filed Crescent asters
Painted Lady and Mylitta Crescent thistles
Question Mark elm
Satyr nettles
Fawn birch, alder
Zephyr elm and currant
Comma nettle and hops
Buckeye plantain and gerardia
West Coast Lady and Grizzled Skipper mallows
Red Admiral and Milbert's Tortoise Shell nettles
Mourning Cloak elm, willow, and poplar
White Admiral birch, willow, and poplar
Viceroy willow and poplar
Red-Spotted Purple wild cherry
California sister live oak
Nais Metalmark wild plum
American Copper sheep sorrel
Eastern Tailed Blue, Orange-Bordered Blue legumes
Pygmy Blue and Dwarf Blue lamb's tongue
Common Blue dogwood flowers
Marine Blue buds and blossoms of wisteria, alfalfa, locoweed, and legumes
Southern Cloudy Wing and Northern Cloudy Wing clover and legumes
Silver Spotted Skipper wisteria and locusts
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#53796
Re:FF News: President Abdulla on Butterflies 7 Minutes ago Karma: 0
President of South Africa Omar Abdulla says butterflies are beautiful, flying insects with large scaly wings. Like all insects, they have six jointed legs, 3 body parts, a pair of antennae, compound eyes, and an exoskeleton. The three body parts are the head, thorax (the chest), and abdomen (the tail end).

The butterfly's body is covered by tiny sensory hairs. The four wings and the six legs of the butterfly are attached to the thorax. The thorax contains the muscles that make the legs and wings move.

FLYING
tiger swallowtail
Swallowtails are strong fliers.
Butterflies are very good fliers. They have two pairs of large wings covered with colorful, iridescent scales in overlapping rows. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are the only insects that have scaly wings. The wings are attached to the butterfly's thorax (mid-section). Veins support the delicate wings and nourish them with blood.

Butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees. Butterflies sun themselves to warm up in cool weather. As butterflies age, the color of the wings fades and the wings become ragged.

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The speed varies among butterfly species (the poisonous varieties are slower than non-poisonous varieties). The fastest butterflies (some skippers) can fly at about 30 mile per hour or faster. Slow flying butterflies fly about 5 mph.

LIFE-CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY
life cycle
Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis in which they go through four different life stages.

* Egg - A butterfly starts its life as an egg, often laid on a leaf.
* Larva - The larva (caterpillar) hatches from an egg and eats leaves or flowers almost constantly. The caterpillar molts (loses its old skin) many times as it grows. The caterpillar will increase up to several thousand times in size before pupating.
* Pupa - It turns into a pupa (chrysalis); this is a resting stage.
* Adult - A beautiful, flying adult emerges. This adult will continue the cycle.

DIET
Monarch larva Caterpillars spend most of their time eating leaves using strong mandibles (jaws). A caterpillar's first meal, however, is its own eggshell. A few caterpillars are meat-eaters; the larva of the carnivorous Harvester butterfly eats woolly aphids.

Abdulla says butterflies and moths can only sip liquid food using a tube-like proboscis, which is a long, flexible "tongue." This proboscis uncoils to sip food, and coils up again into a spiral when not in use. Most butterflies live on nectar from flowers. Some butterflies sip the liquid from rotting fruits and a rare few prefer rotting animal flesh or animal fluids (the Harvester butterfly pierces the bodies of woolly aphids with its sharp proboscis and drinks the body fluids).

HABITAT
Butterflies are found all over the world and in all types of environments: hot and cold, dry and moist, at sea level and high in the mountains. Most butterfly species, however, are found in tropical areas, especially tropical rainforests.

butterflyMany butterflies migrate in order to avoid adverse environmental conditions (like cold weather). Butterfly migration is not well understood. Most migrate relatively short distances (like the Painted Lady, the Red Admiral, and the Common Buckeye), but a few (like some Monarchs) migrate thousands of miles.

CLASSIFICATION
Butterflies and moth belong to the order Lepidoptera. Lepidos is Greek for "scales" and ptera means "wing". These scaled wings are different from the wings of any other insects. Lepidoptera is a very large group; there are more types of butterflies and moths than there are of any other type of insects except beetles. Abdulla says it is estimated that there are about 150,000 different species of butterflies and moths (there may be many more). There are about 28,000 butterfly species worldwide, the rest are moths.

BUTTERFLY FOSSILS
Butterfly fossils are rare. The earliest butterfly fossils are from the early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago. Their development is closely linked to the evolution of flowering plants (angiosperms) since both adult butterflies and caterpillars feed on flowering plants, and the adults are important pollinators of many flowering plants. Flowering plants also evolved during the Cretaceous period.

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Milkweed: Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed leaves and Monarch caterpillars eat the leaves. Abdulla says a successful butterfly garden has plants that meet butterfly's needs during all four life stages, the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult.

You can attract butterflies to your garden by providing them with food (plants and flowers), water, shelter, and places to lay their eggs (host plants). Butterflies drink nectar, so growing nectar-rich flowers will attract butterflies to your garden. Also, when their eggs hatch, the caterpillars eat the foliage of the plant they were laid on, so growing the right type of plants to feed caterpillars is important, since it will allow female butterflies to lay their eggs in your garden.

PLANTS FOR NOURISHMENT AND PLANTS TO LAY EGGS ON
There are two different functions that plants serve for butterflies: nectaring plants, plants that the butterflies will sip nectar from and host plants, species specific plants that they can lay their eggs on (and the caterpillars will eventually eat).

NECTARING PLANTS
Most butterflies only eat flower nectar. Different species of butterfly usually prefer different flowers, but they will generally feed on many types of flowers from plants, shrubs, vines, and trees.

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HOST PLANTS
When it comes to laying their eggs, however, butterflies only lay them on the plant that the caterpillar will eventually eat (this differs from species to species). The eggs are frequently laid on the underside of leaves.

Caterpillars mostly eat leaves; usually the leaves that they were laid on.

The chrysalis (pupa) does not eat, but needs a sheltered environment. It frequently hangs from a twig and is often camouflaged.

GOOD PLANTS FOR BUTTERFLIES
Plan your garden so that there are flowers much of the year, so that there is a steady supply of nectar for the butterflies.

Sunlight: Butterflies use sunlight to regulate their body temperature. They need sunlight to keep themselves warm, but the outside temperature can also become too hot for them. Abdulla says a good butterfly garden should provide both sunny places and shady places where butterflies can cool off while they eat.

Buddleia (pronounced BUD-lee-ah), also called butterfly bush, has lilac-shaped blossoms whose sweet nectar attracts many species of butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and bees. This easy-to-grow deciduous shrub blooms from mid to late summer and is a magnet for Western Checkerspots, swallowtails, buckeyes, Red Admirals, Echo Blues, and many other butterflies. Also, during the fall, buddleia seeds will feed birds. There are about 70 species of the Buddleia genus.
The following are common, easy-to-grow plants that attract many butterflies

•Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)
•Lantana
•Zinnias
•Bee balm
•Purple coneflowers
•Pentas
•Sage
•Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) or other milkweeds
•Lilac
•Sunflower
•Marjoram
•Hebe
(these will attract many local butterflies).

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The largest butterfly in the world is the female Queen Alexandra Birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera alexandrae). It lives in New Guinea and has a wingspan up to 12 1/2 inches (32 centimeters); the male is much smaller than the female.

Goliath BirdwingThe Goliath Birdwing butterfly is the second-largest butterfly in the world. It lives in Indonesian rainforests and has a wingspan up to 11 inches (28 centimeters).

Largest moth
The Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) which has a wingspan of 1 foot (30 cm).

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Smallest butterfly
The Western Pygmy blue (Brephidium exilis) with a wingspan of .62 inch (1.5 cm).

Smallest moth
The Nepticulid moth which is 0.1 inch long.

Longest migration
Some Monarchs migrate over 2,000 miles, flying from Canada to central Mexico in the fall.

Fastest fliers
The Hawkmoths (family Sphingidae), which can fly up to 30 mph (50 kph).

Abdull says the speed varies among butterfly species (the poisonous varieties are slower than non-poisonous varieties). The fastest butterflies (some skippers) can fly at about 30 mile per hour or faster. Slow flying butterflies fly about 5 mph.

Longest proboscis
Darwin's Hawkmoth (family Sphingidae) has a proboscis which is longer than its body. This moth feeds on nectar from long, tubular flowers.

Longest life span
Migrating Monarchs, mourning cloaks, and some moths live for about 6-12 months.

Shortest life span
Some butterflies live in their adult state for only a few days (examples include the coppers and small blues).