Interesting Butterfly Facts- Canadian Wildlife Education Series

 

There are approx. 165,000 species of butterflies and moths worldwide. Butterflies fly at night, while most moths fly only at night. Butterflies and moths are known as lepidopters. While at rest most moths rest with their wings laying flat. While butterflies usually rest with their wings folded together. Butterflies have long thin antennas and moths have wide fuzzy antennas. Butterflies have 4 wings and 6 legs. Their feet have claws for climbing and walking. It is these claws that permit them to cling to a surface while resting upside down. With a 15-30 cm wingspan the female Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing is the largest butterfly.

Thousands of scales on the wings give butterflies their color. The scales overlap and can have 200-600 scales per square millimetre. Each species has a different wing shape, length and size. Their wings flap an average of 100 beats per minute. This expends a great deal of energy so locating food becomes essential to survival. Flight permits the butterfly to take in oxygen, locate food, find a mate and avoid predators. Butterflies are very sensitive to motion. Female butterflies are larger and tend to be less vibrant in colour than males. Butterflies are cold blooded and require the suns warmth to fly. During cold and cloudy days butterflies are less active. Butterflies bask in the sun to absorb the suns radiation.

Butterflies have compound eyes that contain thousands of microscopic lenses. This eye structure gives them the ability to distinguish color and motion many times greater than the human eye. They are able to see in all directions at the same time. Butterflies see in color. Humans see red, yellow and blue the three primary colors, while butterflies see an additional violet short wave hue which is not visible to us. This permits them to locate flowers.

Butterflies have antennas with sensory organs which allow them to smell and taste. They find their mates by scent released from pheromones. The base of their antenna has organs which provide a sense of both orientation and balance in flight. The proboscis acts like a feeding tube allowing the butterfly to drink in nectar. Butterflies have the ability to both touch and taste their food. Butterflies consume pollen and nectar from and the juice of over ripe fruit. Their diet is also supplemented by drinking from puddles and over ripened fruit. Butterflies that feed on nectar are attracted to red, orange, yellow and purple colors. Butterflies consume liquids only. Butterflies gather at sand and mud puddles where they drink to collect salt minerals this is known as “puddling.”

The average lifespan of a butterfly is a mere 2-3 weeks. Several live only a few days while others can live up to 6-8 months. Those that live longer are migratory butterflies. Mourning Cloak butterflies hibernate in winter and are known to awaken to fly on warm winter days.

Some Aortic caterpillar species can take more than 3 years to reach maturity. Few butterflies migrate and they are not known to be territorial. Males can become aggressive toward other males when competing for a female during courtship. During courtship the couple connects abdomen to abdomen and remain that way for several hours. Female butterflies lay 200-500 eggs at one time.

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