Every spring the butterflies come back to my garden, not in
droves but enough to make me stop what I am doing and watch them flying around
the garden. I and I believe many others delight in the beauty of the butterfly/
They are gorgeous creatures, and they can capture your imagination. However, we
rarely think about or consider the changes it has gone through to achieve that
beauty. In fact, many of us use the Butterfly emoji when we text or post. The
butterfly emoji represents the butterfly, as well as the symbolism associated
with it: positive transformations, hope during a dark time, and new beginnings.
Here are some fascinating facts to consider next time you cross a butterfly’s
path:
There
are more than 17,500 recorded butterfly species around the world, 750 of which
can be found in the U.S.
Butterflies
and moths are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera.
Butterflies are flying insects with large scaly wings. Like all insects, they
have six jointed legs and three body parts: the head, the thorax and the
abdomen. The wings are attached to the thorax, and they also have a pair of
antennae, compound eyes and an exoskeleton.
Monarch
butterflies migrate to get away from the cold. However, they are the only
insect that migrates an average of 2,500 miles to find a warmer climate. The
iconic North American Monarch has been greatly affected by extreme weather
events, going through drastic dips and spikes in numbers over the past several
decades. The overall pattern continues to point downward, with a 95 percent
population decline over the last 20 years, but conservation efforts are helping:
Monarchs
are not the only butterfly that migrates. The Painted Lady, American Lady, Red
Admiral, Cloudless Sulphur, Skipper, Sachem, Question Mark, Clouded Skipper,
Fiery Skipper and Mourning Cloak are among the other butterflies that also
migrate, but not as far as the Monarchs.
The
Common Buckeye Butterfly is one of the most striking butterflies, with its bold
multicoloured eyespots and thick upper-wing bars, all designed to frighten away
any birds that might be tempted to chomp on them. If you look under its wings,
you’ll find a more abstract profusion of brown, orange and beige. These insects
are pretty common all over North and Central America, although you won’t find
them in the Pacific Northwest or in the far north of Canada.
The
Orange Barred Sulphur Butterfly is one that you can find all over the Americas
and the Caribbean. It’s very distinctive, being bright yellow with patches of
orange marking both forewings and hindwings. Females tend to be bigger and
darker than their male counterparts and unusually, just like the adult
butterflies, the caterpillars also have bright yellow bodies segmented by dark
stripes.
Speaking
of caterpillars, how much do you know about the life cycle of a butterfly? The
butterfly starts its life as an egg, laid on a leaf. The caterpillar (larva)
hatches from the egg and eats leaves or flowers. It loses its skin many times
as it grows, increasing greatly in size. Eventually, it turns into a pupa or
chrysalis and finally, a beautiful adult butterfly emerges, and the cycle
continues.
An
adult butterfly has a very short life: just three to four weeks. However, the
entire life cycle of a butterfly can range between 2 and 8 months, depending on
the species. Some migratory butterflies, such as the North American Monarch,
can live as long as 7 to 8 months in one generation.
The
Giant Swallowtail Butterfly, as its name implies, is one of the biggest
butterflies, with a wing spread of four to seven inches. The female is once
again bigger than the male. It too is found throughout North America and
sometimes as far south as South America. These butterflies are called “swallows”
because they have long tails on their hind wings that resemble the long,
pointed tails of the birds known as swallows.
Be
sure to get outside this summer and look around for butterflies and other
wildlife in your backyard. If you see a butterfly but aren’t sure about the
species, you can consult this handy
identification guide
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