Care2 Causes/Judy M.: 10 Fascinating Facts About Butterflies

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10 Fascinating Facts About Butterflies
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10 Fascinating Facts About Butterflies
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    By: Judy M.
    April 28, 2018

    About Judy
    Follow Judy at @judymolland

Editor’s note: This Care2 favorite was originally posted on June 20, 2016.

From those small cabbage whites to the largest swallowtails, there are thousands of unique and beloved butterfly species on the planet. Many of us see them outside every day in the spring and summer, but how much do you know about these colorful insects?
10 Fascinating Facts to Know About Butterflies

1. There are more than 17,500 recorded butterfly species around the world, 750 of which can be found in the United States.

2. 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.
cabbage white

Photo Credit: Smabs Sputzer/Flickr

3. The cabbage white, pictured above, is the most common butterfly in the U.S. Although it appears mostly white with black markings on the top of its wings, those wings are yellowish-green on the underside. Cabbage whites have a wing spread of just about two inches. Males have only one spot on each wing, while females have two. As you probably know, you can find cabbage whites in most open spaces — including gardens, roadsides, parks and cities.
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monarch-butterfly

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

4.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, undergoing drastic dips and spikes in population 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: There were more monarch butterflies migrating in 2015 than there were in 2014.

5. Monarchs are not the only butterfly to migrate. 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.
common-buckeye-butterfly

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

6. The common buckeye butterfly is one of the most striking butterflies, with its bold multicolored 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.

7. The orange barred sulphur butterfly is one that you can find all over the Americas and the Caribbean. It’s very distinctive, with bright yellow coloration and patches of orange marking both forewings and hindwings. Females tend to be bigger and darker than their male counterparts. And, just like the adult butterflies, the caterpillars have bright yellow bodies segmented by dark stripes.

8. 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, or 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.

9. An adult butterfly has a very short life: just three to four weeks. However, the entire life cycle of a butterfly can range between two and eight months, depending on the species. Some migratory butterflies, such as the North American onarch, can live as long as seven to eight months in one generation.
giant-swallowtail-butterfly

Photo Credit: Brian Gratwicke/Flickr

10. 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 larger than the male. Swallowtails are found throughout North America, and sometimes as far south as South America. These butterflies are called “swallow” 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 spring 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.

Related stories:
How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden
Butterfly Bushes Aren’t Good for Butterflies

Photo Credit: Dominik QN/Unsplash
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246 comments
Janet B
Janet B10 minutes ago

Thanks
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Angela J
Angela J18 minutes ago

Thanks
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Sheila D
Sheila D24 minutes ago

Love butterflies. Have a dog-faced butterfly tattoo on my ankle. Thanks for sharing.
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Lisa M
Lisa Mabout an hour ago

Thanks for sharing!
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Lisa M
Lisa Mabout an hour ago

Thanks for sharing!
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Jaime J
Jaime Jabout an hour ago

Thank you!!
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Jaime J
Jaime Jabout an hour ago

Thank you!!
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Jetana A
Jetana Aabout an hour ago

Plant butterfly attracting flowers, people!
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Christeen A
Christeen Aabout an hour ago

Quite interesting. Thank you.
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Roro l
Roro l1 hours ago

Thank you.
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view all 246 comments
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