Butterfly Facts

By: Joanne Jones
Submitted: 2008-08-28 16:11:45
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Every child can remember being fascinated by butterflies. While most fascinations that you have as a child are outgrown, butterflies are one fascination that continues into adulthood. While their beauty may amaze you, how much do you really know about them? Here are a few common questions and answers about butterflies.

How long do butterflies live?

There are many different species of butterflies and the life of an adult butterfly varies by each species. Some species live for only two to ten days, while others live for up to nine months. The Monarch butterfly and Swallowtail butterflies live for only a month during the summer months. However, once the Monarch butterfly begins its journey to Mexico in the fall, it can live for about six months. The longest life span of an adult butterfly is from the Brimstone butterfly species, which is able to live for nine to ten months.

Why do caterpillars turn into butterflies?

There are a few reasons that caterpillars become butterflies. One reason is that caterpillars cannot mate or reproduce. Another reason is that butterflies are better able to migrate since they are able to fly. This migration allows them to colonize new regions and to also migrate from one region to another in order to escape from cold, harsh winters.

Are there any poisonous butterflies?

When the Monarch butterfly and the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly are still in their caterpillar stage of growth, they eat poisonous plants. They retain this poison in their system for their rest of their lives, even when they turn into a butterfly. Not to worry, this poison is not harmful to humans and does not kill birds. At most, the birds will vomit or spit out the butterfly they have eaten. Since birds learn not to eat these poisonous butterflies, other butterflies will mimic the appearance of the Monarch and the Pipevine Swallowtail in order to avoid being eaten. For example, the Viceroy butterfly mimics the Monarch, while the Red-spotted Purple butterfly mimics the Pipevine Swallowtail. In reality, neither the Viceroy nor the Red-spotted Purple butterfly are actually poisonous.

Are there any other fun facts that you can tell me?

Listed below are some more amazing and interesting facts about butterflies.

• Butterflies eat insects and drink the nectar from plants. They also drink water.
• Butterflies can only see in red, green and yellow.
• There are around 24,000 different species of butterflies around the world. For moths, there are about 140,000 different species all over the world.
• Butterflies have an exoskeleton meaning that their skeleton is found on the outside of their bodies. The reason for this is to protect the butterfly and to keep water inside of their bodies so that they won’t dry out.
• Butterflies have six legs.
• The top speed a butterfly can fly is 12 miles per hour, while some moths can go as fast as 25 miles per hour.
• Monarch butterflies travel 2,000 miles as they fly from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico every fall. Their offspring travel the same distance in the spring when they fly from Mexico to the Great Lakes.
• If their body temperature is below 86 degrees Fahrenheit, butterflies are unable to fly.
• Most butterflies have the ability to taste with their feet. They use this ability to find out if a leaf is suitable to lay their eggs on. They will deem the leaf suitable if it will provide enough food for the caterpillars that hatch from their eggs.

Article source: Expert Articles