The Beauty of Butterflies

Part of the anatomy of a butterfly includes six legs, two antennae and four wings. The wings are normally covered with colored scales. There are around 12-15,000 different species of butterflies that are located on all continents except for Antarctica. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated that approximately 20 or more species of butterflies are endangered due to loss of their habitat. The average lifespan for an adult butterfly is two weeks or less. The lifespan may vary, depending on the particular species, but it is known that no type of butterfly can live more than a year.

One of the miracles of nature is seen in the transformation of the ugly caterpillar into a beautiful and elegant butterfly. The four stages that a butterfly goes through are egg, larva, pupa and at last, the adult. Monarch butterflies make an annual migration and use the same trees every year, usually traveling up to 2,000 miles. The butterflies must migrate, as they are unable to tolerate freezing weather.

Butterflies have a long flexible tongue that they use to eat nectar from flowers and juice from rotting fruit. The smallest known butterfly is the blue pygmy that is found in California. This small butterfly’s wingspan is a little over half an inch. The butterfly has the ability to change its appearance to look like a leaf, or blend in with the bark of a tree. This ability is one of the defenses that the butterfly uses against its enemies.