Theregent skipper (Euschemon rafflesia) is the most distinct skipper butterfly, forming asubfamily of theHesperiidaeSome butterflies docamouflage: the excellent leaf-mimicGonepteryx rhamni, thecommon brimstone, on purple loosestrifeKallima inachus is anymphalid butterfly found in tropical Asia. With its wings closed, it looks like a dry leaf with dark veinsThe same butterfly,Kallima inachus, showing the upper side of its wings.Boy looks at butterfly
Abutterfly is a (usually) day-flyinginsect of theorderLepidoptera. They are grouped together in the suborderRhopalocera. Butterflies are related tomoths, from which theyevolved about 56 million years ago.[1] The earliest discovered fossil moth was 200 million years ago.[2]
The life of butterflies is closely connected toflowering plants. Theirlarvae (caterpillars) feed on plants, and their adults feed on flowers. They lay their eggs on the plants their caterpillars feed on. Butterflies have a long history ofco-evolution with flowering plants. Many of the details ofplant anatomy are related to theirpollinators, and vice versa.[3] The other notable features of butterflies are their extraordinary range of colours and patterns, and their wings. These are discussed below.
Angiosperms (flowering plants) evolved in theLower Cretaceous, but did not become common until theUpper Cretaceous. Butterflies were the last major group of insects to appear on the planet.[1] Theyevolved from moths in the latest Cretaceous or the earliestCainozoic. The earliest known butterflyfossils date to the midEoceneepoch, between 40 and 50 million years ago.[4]
Like moths, butterflies have four wings covered with tinyscales. The front and back wings are usually zipped together, so that the insect looks as if it has only two wings. When a butterfly is not flying, its wings are usually folded over its back. The wings are patterned and are often brightly coloured. There are many different kinds of butterflies. The males and females of each kind are often slightly different from each other. Butterfly watching is a popularhobby. Some people also keep collections of dead butterflies that they have caught, but they find out that the colour fades.
Like all insects with completemetamorphosis, a butterfly's life goes through four distinct stages. It begins as anegg, which hatches into alarva (acaterpillar). After some time, the larva turns into achrysalis. While it is in the chrysalis stage, it changes to become an adult butterfly. These changes are only beginning to be understood. To complete the cycle, adults mate and the females lay eggs.
Butterflies are any of the species belonging to the superfamiliesPapilionoidea andHedyloidea. Butterflies, along with the moths and the skippers, make up the insect order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are nearly worldwide in their distribution.
The mainpredators of butterflies are birds, just as the main predators of thecrepuscularmoths arebats. Alsomonkeys and tree-dwellingreptiles are predators, and some insects and spiders. All reptiles have good colour vision, so that butterfly coloration is seen by them.
The extraordinary colours and patterns on the wings and body can only be understood in terms of their function. Some of the most obvious functions of colour are:
Camouflage: enabling the insect to remain hidden from view
Signalling to other animals
Warning colouration: signalling to other animals not to attack. Caterpillars may have stored poisons from their food plants.
Mimicry: taking advantage of another species' warning coloration
The details vary from group to group, and from species to species. The caterpillars also have colours with similar functions. The poisonous substances which make some butterfliesnoxious to eat are got from the plants eaten by their caterpillars.
Like most insects, butterflies have three main body parts. These parts are thehead, thethorax, and theabdomen. The body is protected by theexoskeleton. The body is made up of sections, known as segments. In between the segments there areflexible areas that allow the butterfly to move. All three parts of the body are covered in very small scales. The scales give the butterfly its colour.[5]
Butterflies have a very characteristic flying style. They usually do not fly in straight lines. Their style is well described by the children's version of their name: 'flutter-by'. The way they fly presumably makes them harder for birds to catch.
Some species are capable of strong, long flights (seemonarch butterfly migration) and others never leave the woods they were born in. They can survive bird pecks on the wings. Late in the season damage to their wings can often be seen, though they continue flying quite well.
When they are alive, it is often difficult to see they have four wings. The wings on each side are linked by a row of little hooks. So in practice they fly as if they had one large wing on each side.
The head is the first part of the body. It has theeyes,mouth parts, andantennae.[5]
The eyes of a butterfly are large. Like other adult insects, the eye is made up of many small lenses or "optical units". These arecompound eyes. Butterflies do not see as many colours ashumans, but they can seeultraviolet light.[5]
The mouth of an adult butterfly does not havejaws. It has a kind of mouth that sucksliquids. This mouth is made of two hollowtubes. The tubes are locked together in the middle. When the butterfly is not drinking, the tubes arecoiled up. It can uncoil them when it wants to drink.[5] Like all insects, the adult phase is aboutreproduction. The main eating phase is done by the larvae, which usually eat plant food.
The antennae of a butterfly are used forsmell andbalance. The antenna in most butterflies is clubbed at the end. In some butterflies (like theskippers), there is a hook at the end of the antenna, instead of a club.[5]
The thorax is the second part of the body. It is made up of three segments. Thelegs and wings are connected to the thorax.[5]
The legs of a butterfly are made for walking, holding onto things, andtasting. There are three pairs of legs.[5] There are four main parts of the leg. They are the trochanter, the femur, the tibia, and the foot.[6] At the end of each foot, there is a pair ofclaws. Butterflies in thefamilyNymphalidae have very short front legs. They keep there front legs close to their bodies. This makes it look like they only have two pairs of legs.[5] In somespecies, there is a movable body part on the tibia that is used to clean the antennae.[7]
A butterfly has two pairs of wings. Each wing has hollow tubes calledveins. The colors and patterns of butterflies are made by tiny scales. The scales overlap each other. They are connected to the wing. If a butterfly ishandled, the tiny scales may rub off.[5]
The abdomen is the third part of the body. It is made up of ten segments. The abdomen is much softer than the head and the thorax. At the end of the abdomen are thereproductive organs. In the male, there is a pair of claspers. They are used to hold on to the female duringmating. In the female, there is a tube to layeggs (theovipositor).[5]
Butterflies go throughcomplete metamorphosis. This means that there are four parts in a butterfly's life. The first part is theegg. The second part is thecaterpillar (sometimes called thelarva). The third part is thechrysalis (sometimes called thepupa). The fourth part is the adult (sometimes called theimago).[5]
A female butterfly will lay her eggs on or near the food plant of the caterpillar (the food plant is the plant that the caterpillar feeds on). The female will choose a place to lay her eggs using smell, taste,touch, andsight. Most species will lay just one egg on the food plant. Others will lay groups of five to over 100 eggs on the food plant. Most species will lay their eggs on the leaves of the food plant. Others will lay them on theflowers,stems,bark, orfruit of the food plant.[5]
The eggs come in many different shapes and colours. They may be round or oval, and flattened. In some species, the egg shell isribbed. The most common colours in butterfly eggs areyellow andgreen. The eggs will turn dark just before hatching. Also, some butterflies take a day to come out of eggs, while others could take months.
Common buckeye (Junonia coenia) caterpillars. Note the variationA Old World swallowtail (Papilio machaon) caterpillar showing its osmeterium
Butterfly caterpillars can vary in size, colour, and shape. They may havespines,bristles, or soft bodyextensions. All caterpillars have 13 body segments. The first three segments make up the thorax. The thorax has three pairs oflegs. These legs are called true legs. The other 10 segments make up the abdomen. The abdomen has five pairs of soft legs called prolegs. The prolegs have tiny hooks at the end of each of the foot. They are used to hold on to things. The hooks are called crochets.[5]
A caterpillar'sskin does not grow. As the caterpillar grows inside its skin, the skin becomes too tight. In order for the caterpillar to grow bigger, itsheds its too-tight skin. After the old skin is shed, there is a new, larger skin. This is known asmoulting. A caterpillar will moult four to five times before turning into a pupa. Each stage between moults is called aninstar.[5]
All caterpillars can makesilk. The silk is made from thesalivary glands. Silk starts out as a liquid in the salivary glands. The caterpillar draws out the silk into a small thread. The silk hardens as soon as it isexposed to the air. Caterpillars use silk to makenests orcocoons.[5]
Most caterpillars feed onleaves ofplants ortrees. Most species of caterpillars will feed only on a small number of certain kinds of plants. If the caterpillar's food plant is not found, it maystarve to death.[5]
Some species of caterpillars (in the familyLycaenidae) aretended byants. The caterpillars have specialglands that make a sweet liquid calledhoneydew. The ants like the honeydew. In return for the honeydew, the ants protect the caterpillars frompredators. The caterpillars also have special body parts that makesounds. The caterpillar will make sounds with the body parts and "call" the ants when the caterpillar is being attacked by predators. The ants hear the sounds and come to protect the caterpillar.[8]
Caterpillars in the familyPapilionidae have a special organ. This organ is called an osmeterium. It is a bad-smelling gland that is shaped like asnake'stongue. It is kept behind the inside of the head. When a predator tries to eat the caterpillar, the caterpillarreleases the osmeterium. This usually scares the predators away.[9]p161
The pupa (plural, pupae) is formed after the last moult. The caterpillar will find a special place to pupate (pupate means to turn into a pupa). Thedigestive tract is emptied. The caterpillar sheds its skin. The pupa is now exposed. The caterpillar's tissues are broken down and rebuilt into the butterfly's tissues.[5]
The pupa cannot move. It is attached to an object by tiny hooks on the end of the abdomen. These hooks make up what is called the cremaster. There are many tiny holes on the pupa. They allowrespiratorygases to move in and out of the pupa.[5]
Many pupae are easy for predators to attack. Some caterpillars (in the familyHesperiidae and the subfamiliesParnassiinae andSatyrinae) make shelters out of silk and leaves to protect themselves when they become pupae. These shelters are called cocoons. Most butterfly pupae do not have cocoons to protect themselves. Instead, the pupae have brown or green colours tocamouflage themselves among leaves and branches. Pupae that do not have cocoons are called chrysalids or chrysalises.[5]
Some butterflies may be in trouble because ofhabitat loss. Because of the destruction of forests and grasslands, some types of butterflies have nowhere to feed and lay eggs. To help, some people plant a butterfly garden with flowers having lots of nectar for butterflies to feed on. Some people also keep plants that butterflies lay eggs on, and enjoy watching the caterpillars hatch out and feed on the plant. Chemical sprays that are used to keep pests away from garden plants, also kill butterflies.
The earliestLepidoptera fossils date to theTriassic-Jurassic boundary, about 200million years ago.[10] Butterflies evolved from moths. The oldest known butterfly isProtocoeliades kristenseni from thePalaeocene of Denmark, about 55million years ago. It belongs to the familyHesperiidae (skippers).[11]Molecular clock estimates suggest that butterflies originated sometime in the mid-Cretaceous, but only significantly diversified during the Cenozoic.[12] Genetic data suggest they originated in North-America 102.5–100.0million years ago from a nocturnal moth ancestor that fed on legumes. Only about 17million years ago did they colonize Europe.[13] The oldest American butterfly is from the laterEocene from theFlorissant Formation fossil beds,[14][15] about 34million years old.[16]
↑1.01.1Grimaldi D. and Engel M.S. 2005.Evolution of the insects. Cambridge University Press, p590–606.ISBN0-521-82149-5
↑Briggs, Helen. Meet the butterflies from 200 million years ago.BBC Science & Environment.[1]Archived 2019-07-20 at theWayback Machine
↑95% of flowering plants in tropical lowlands rely on animals for pollination or dispersal of seeds. Thomson, John N. 1994.The coevolutionary process. University of Chicago Press, p7.ISBN0-226-79760-0
↑Cech, Rick and Tudor, Guy 2005.Butterflies of the East Coast. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, p36.ISBN0-691-09055-6
↑Triplehorn, Charles A. and Johnson, Norman F. 2005.Borror and Delong's introduction to the study of insects. 7th ed, Thomson Brooks/Cole. Belmont, California, p578.ISBN0-03-096835-6
↑Wagner, David L. 2005.Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, p91.ISBN0-691-12144-3
↑9.09.1Scott, James A. 1986.The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.ISBN0-8047-2013-4
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