61 Interesting Butterfly Facts
Butterflies are insects that have large, often brightly colored wings, and conspicuous fluttering flight. Do you know that some species of butterfly have taste sensors on their feet? Keep reading to discover more fascinating and fun facts about butterflies that will WOW you. Do you know that dolphins are very intelligent in nature and can understand about 60 words? Find out more about 60 Fascinating Dolphins facts.
Monarch Butterfly Facts
1. The Monarch caterpillar can grow two thousand seven hundred times its original weight.
2. Monarchs eat poisonous milkweed during their larval stage, which is stored in the body.
3. The Monarch Butterfly flaps its wings around 5 to 12 times a second.
4. The gold spots on Monarch Butterfly chrysalises are due to carotenoid pigments from their milkweed diet.
5. Greedy Monarch caterpillars have been known to devour a whole milkweed leaf in under five minutes.
Blue Morpho Butterfly Facts
6. Blue Morpho Butterflies love light and are most active when the sun is shining.
7. These butterflies are covered in shimmering shades of blue on their upper wing surfaces. However, it is typically only the males who exhibit this stunning coloration.
8. Their eyes are highly sensitive to UV light and the males are particularly adept at spotting each other across great distances.
9. Turns out the Blue Morpho’s wings are not blue at all, it is caused by the way light reflects off the microscopic scales on its wings.
10. Blue Morphos have smell receptors on their antenna and taste sensors on their feet.
Red Admiral Butterfly Facts
11. The estimated speed at which a red admiral butterfly can fly is 5.5-12.4 mph (9-20 kph). Their speed can vary depending on the speed of the wind.
12. The red admiral life cycle is around 10-11 months long. Within this, they go through many stages.
13. The preferred red admiral butterfly host plant is stinging nettle. They feel safe on these plants and their young also feed on them after birth.
14. The red admiral butterfly communicates by emitting chemical cues known as pheromones.
15. Red admirals prefer to live in groups as this tends to help them to escape any dangers, including predators.
Creepy Butterfly Facts
16. Butterflies can perceive colors outside of the human visual range, such as ultraviolet.
17. Many members of a butterfly family called the Lycaenids, or gossamer-wings, rely on ants to take care of their babies.
18. Butterflies don’t just drink nectar from flowers. Many of them consume a whole host of revolting things, from poop to urine to decaying animal flesh.
19. Their heads aren’t the only weapons that butterflies wield. Some caterpillars absorb poisons from their food plants and use them against predators.
20. Butterflies can get pretty big. Some of Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterflies have a foot-long wingspan.
Cabbage White Butterfly Facts
21. This butterfly usually mates and broods from April to October.
22. Female butterflies can cover a distance of 12 km in search of host plants.
23. Females can produce 300 to 400 eggs and the eggs are randomly deposited on the underside of leaves.
24. The compound eyes of a small cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) help it to see ultraviolet lights and gauge visual cues for foraging.
25. Females also take part in a drumming reaction after landing on a plant which is thought to be a way to find out more about the plant and its suitability.
Swallowtail Butterfly Facts
26. When threatened, the more colorful, older caterpillars inflate a fleshy, orange organ, called an osmeterium, from behind their heads, exuding a pungent pineapple-like odor.
27. With a wingspan of up to 93mm, the swallowtail is Britain’s largest species of butterfly, narrowly beating the purple emperor that has a wingspan of 92mm.
28. The black and white patterns of their young caterpillars are believed to mimic bird droppings to deter predators.
29. Swallowtails butterflies are mostly found in the United Kingdom.
30. The unique British subspecies feed only on milk parsley.
Peacock Butterfly Facts
31. Peacock butterflies are large, colorful butterflies, sporting wingspans of up to 2.5 inches.
32. Their lifespan is only about 30 weeks to 52 weeks.
33. During the winter, they may hiss to deter predators who can’t see the eyespots due to low lighting conditions.
34. The front legs of these butterflies are shortened and used for cleaning instead of walking
35. Mating season begins in May, right after hibernation and just before their death at some point later in the same month.
Glasswing Butterfly Facts
36. A Glasswing butterfly is a migratory butterfly. Therefore it is found in almost all habitats in Central America.
37. Glasswing butterfly has a lifespan of 6 – 12 weeks.
38. It is also very swift and can fly up to 8 mph (13 kph) for short periods.
39. Glasswing butterfly is 2.8 to 3.3 cm long
Butterfly Mating Facts
40. The decision of the female to mate is partly dependent on the male’s wing pattern.
41. Mating occurs shortly after butterflies emerge from their chrysalises to become adults.
42. If a male catches another male in his territory, he may chase it to drive it away.
43. The insects will first use their vision to try to identify females of their species before mating.
Butterfly Life cycle Facts
44. The caterpillar’s job is to eat. The adult’s job is to mate and lay eggs.
45. The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis which is of two types, the complete and incomplete metamorphosis.
46. The pupal stage can last from a few weeks, a month, or even longer. Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for two years.
47. Most adult butterflies live only one or two weeks, but some species hibernate during the winter and may live several months.
Butterfly Egg Facts
48. Butterfly eggs vary in size—from about 1 to 3 mm in diameter.
49. Butterfly eggs are normally attached to a plant–usually the leaf–with a special fluid. This glue holds the eggs to the leaf in such a way that they cannot be separated without destroying the eggs
50. Depending on the species, females lay eggs one at a time, in clusters, or batches of hundreds.
51. A butterfly egg hatches after three to eight days depending on temperature and season of the year.
52. Butterflies lay an average of between 100 to 300 eggs, although some species may only lay a few dozen, others can lay as many as a thousand or more.
Butterfly Wings Facts
53. Preliminary research shows that even tiny changes in scale thickness can have a big impact on how well the scales absorb heat
54. Although you can’t see them, a system of minuscule veins runs through the wings and if the vein on the forewing gets broken, the butterfly will usually die
55. Since butterflies are cold-blooded, they rely on external sources of heat to bring their core temperature to a high enough level for their bodies to function
56. Butterfly wings are made of very thin layers of a hardened protein called chitin.
57. Their scales protect and insulate the insects and aid in the flow of air along with their wings as they fly
Painted Lady Butterfly Facts
58. The painted lady is called the thistle butterfly because thistle plants are its favorite nectar plant for food.
59. A painted lady is capable of reaching a speed of nearly 30 miles per hour.
60. Painted lady butterflies inhabit every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
61. These medium-sized butterflies can cover a lot of ground, up to 100 miles per day during their migrations.
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