Today we are diving into the amazing world of butterflies. This is a really special topic for me. For as long as I can remember, whenever I would think of my grandma, I would think about butterflies. She absolutely loved them. Anywhere you looked in her house, you would find a butterfly somewhere: stained glass hanging in the window to catch the afternoon sun, painted on a flower pot, embroidered on her shirt, covering my favorite mug to use whenever I visited, and just about anywhere else you could imagine. She recently joined my grandpa up in heaven, so I have found myself thinking about butterflies even more than normal. Every time I see one it feels like she’s telling me everything is going to be ok. So grandma, I am dedicating this post to you and all of the love you brought into this world. I love you and miss you so much.
So, what makes a butterfly a butterfly? A butterfly is an insect that belongs to the order Lepidoptera. Lepidoptera also includes their close relatives the moths. They are most well known for their beautifully colored wings and mind boggling life cycle. (Seriously, how do they go from cute little caterpillars to amazingly beautiful butterflies?!?! We’ll talk all about it in a little bit.) They can range in size from a wingspan of only ¼-½ inch at their smallest (the Western Pygmy Blue) to a wingspan of 11 inches at their largest (the Queen Alexandra Birdwing). Unlike many other insects, butterflies’ bodies are covered in tiny little sensory hairs that help them navigate the world around them. While many people may think butterfly wings are covered in powder, they are actually covered with tiny little scales! It is also a myth that touching a butterfly’s wings will kill them. You still want to be very gentle when handling them, but they are a lot tougher than you might think. Butterflies can live in a wide variety of environments all over the world. Some even migrate thousands of miles every year!
Sometimes their cousins, the moths, can be mistaken for butterflies, but they are different! How are they different, you may ask? Well, while butterflies tend to be larger and have more brightly colored wings, moths tend to be on the smaller side with duller colors on their wings. The easiest way to tell the difference between moths and butterflies is to look at their antenna! Butterflies have antennae that are club shaped while moths have more feathery looking antennae. Another major difference is that while butterflies tend to be most active during the day (diurnal), moths are most active at night (nocturnal).
Now, let’s discuss the absolutely absurd life cycle of a butterfly. Their life cycle consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. In the beginning, they are just chilling out in their little egg homes, waiting to hatch and start their lives. They begin their days exploring the world in a larval stage called a caterpillar. We all know these cute little buggers that inch around. Different species of butterflies start as different types of caterpillars and they can take on as many different colors and patterns as their adult counterparts. Basically, all they do during the larval stage is eat and eat and eat and grow and eat some more. Once they are full, they enter the next stage of their lives, pupa. The entirety of the pupa state happens inside of their chrysalis. This is when all of the mind boggling metamorphosis happens and they change from a wiggly little caterpillar to a butterfly. Depending on the species, they stay in the pupa stage from 5-21 days. After that, they have reached adulthood! They emerge from their chrysalis beautiful little butterflies. Butterflies live anywhere from a couple of weeks to almost a year depending on their species and environment.
So, why should we care about butterflies? Well, besides them being absolutely beautiful, they are also really important for our ecosystems. They can be used as an indicator species (species that scientists look for to indicate whether an ecosystem is healthy or not). This helps scientists who are doing restoration projects determine if their efforts are effective or if an environment may need restoration. They are also an important part of the food chain and help pollinate plants. Unfortunately, due mainly to habitat destruction, many species of butterflies are now at risk of extinction. You can help them out by planting native, butterfly friendly plants in your garden or in pots on your balcony.
Thanks for learning with me! What was your favorite thing you learned about butterflies? Mine was learning that their wings are covered in scales. Who would have thought it? My mind was blown. What other questions do you have about butterflies? Leave them below!
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