Types of Butterflies

Butterflies are beautiful flying insects with large colorful wings. They are very good fliers with two pairs of large wings covered with colorful iridescent scales in overlapping rows. The wings are attached to the thorax or the mid-body of the butterfly. The butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees.

Butterfly body parts
Head: The body of a butterfly can be divided into three parts. The head contains the eyes and the proboscis which is like a tongue which it uncoils and coils to drink nectar from flowers. There are two antennas which are like the nose which is used to sniff the air around them.

Thorax: The middle part of the body is called the thorax. The wings and legs are attached to this part of the body. There are three pairs of jointed legs used to taste the petals and six legs for support. The wingspan of the butterflies varies from 1/8 of an inch long to over 11 inches.

Abdomen: The abdomen of a butterfly consists of the reproductive organs and the digestive tract.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Butterflies undergo a complete metamorphosis while going through four different stages:
Egg: The first stage of a butterfly is the egg which is laid on the leaf of a plant.

Larva: The larva is the stage that immediately follows after the egg hatches. It starts feeding on the leaves and flowers and continues feeding on them. It undergoes a massive change in growth as well as shape.

Pupa: It grows into a pupa which is the resting stage.

Adult: This is the final stage, which is the beautiful flying adult.

Diet
Caterpillars spend most of their time eating away the leaves, but their but meal is their own eggshell. They continue feeding on leaves until they grow into a pupa and become dormant. After it grows into a butterfly, it sucks nectar from flowers and plants through their proboscis.

Habitat and Types
Butterflies are found all over the world especially in tropical areas. Some of the types of butterflies found in North America and other tropical countries are:

I. American Painted Lady- The natural habitats are deserts, meadows and mountains. They feed on the nectars of thistle, zinnia, heliotrope, butterfly bush and mint. Their host plants are thistle, pearly everlasting, burdock and wormwood.

II. European Cabbage White- The host plants for these are broccoli, cabbage, nasturtium and mustard. The nectar plants are aster, dogbane, dandelion, lantana, milkweed and sunflower. Their natural habitats are agricultural fields, plants, vegetable garden and woodlands.

III. Fritallaries- The host plants are violet. The nectar plants are black eyed Susan, dogbane, loose-strife, milkweed and purple coneflower. Their natural habitats are open areas, fields and forest edges.

IV. Monarch- Their natural habitats are open areas, meadows, fields, roadsides and marshes. The plants from which they prefer to take nectar are butterfly bush, cosmos, lilac, lantana, milkweed and mints. Their host plant is milkweed.

V. Mourning Cloak- The natural habitats for them are open woodlands, river bands and forest edges. Their nectar plants are buddleia, dogband and Shasta daisy. The host plants for them are ash, elm, poplar and willow.

VI. Orange Sulphur- Their natural habitats are fields, meadows and lawns and their host plants are many legumes, alfalfa, clovers, trefoil and vetch. The nectar plants for them are alfalfa, aster and clover.

VII. Pipe- vine Swallowtail- The natural habitats are forests, fields and roadsides and their host plants are pipe-vines. Their nectar plants are azalea, butterfly bush, honeysuckle, lanta, lilac, phlox, thistle and verbena.

Many butterflies migrate from one place to another to avoid the extreme tropical climate of these places. Their migration is not yet very well understood. Most of them migrate to relatively short distances but some also migrate to other countries covering thousands of miles. Their speed varies from 30 miles per hour or faster. However, the speeds of the slow flying butterflies are about 5 miles per hour. Butterflies sun themselves up to get warmed up in the cold weather. As they age, their colorful wings become faded and ragged.