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- DictionaryBut·ter·fly/ˈbədərˌflī/
noun
- 1. a nectar-feeding insect with two pairs of large, typically brightly colored wings that are covered with microscopic scales. Butterflies are distinguished from moths by having clubbed or dilated antennae, holding their wings erect when at rest, and being active by day.
- 2. a showy or frivolous person: "a social butterfly"
verb
- 1. split (a piece of meat or fish) almost in two and spread it out flat: "butterfly the shrimp using a small sharp knife"
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran suborder Rhopalocera, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight.
Jul 2, 2024 · Learn about butterflies, the colourful and diverse insects that belong to the order Lepidoptera. Find out how they differ from moths, what they eat, and how they go through four stages of life.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Due to their bright colors and visits to flowers, butterflies are the most familiar of insects to humans. There are about 17,500 species of butterflies in the world, and around 750 species in the United States. Distinctive characteristics.
- Red Admiral. Vanessa atalanta. Red Admirals have a wingspan of 1.75 to 2.5 inches. The coloring is dark brown with a reddish circular band and white spots.
- Painted Lady. Vanessa cardui. Painted Lady butterflies have a wingspan of 1.75 to 2.5 inches. The coloring is pinkish-orange, with dark brown to black markings near the wingtips and white spots inside the black markings.
- Monarch. Danaus plexippus. Monarch butterflies have a wingspan of 3.5 to 4 inches. Their recognizable coloring is a “stained glass” pattern of orange with black veins.
- American Lady. Vanessa virginiensis. American Lady Butterflies have a wingspan of 1.75 to 2.5 inches. The coloring of this species is a brilliant orange with dark borders and markings and white and purple spots.
- The Life Cycle of A Butterfly
- The Impact of Climate Change on Butterflies
- Five Interesting Butterfly Facts
- The Classification of All Different Butterfly Types
- The Different Types of Butterflies Breeds
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The butterfly and the moth share similar lifestyle processes. Their life cycle is called metamorphosis. It comes from ancient Greek words that combine to mean a transformation in shape. There are two types of metamorphosis that an insect can have. Insects like crickets, dragonflies and cockroaches experience incomplete metamorphosis. We focus on co...
Butterflies often act as bioindicators for the effects of climate change. They are susceptible to their surroundings. They are often very well adapted for specific biomes and climatic conditions. For example, monarch butterflies have been bioindicators for the effect of climate change. Their migration patterns have changed dramatically compared to ...
1| The origin of the word “butterfly” has to do with witches and magic.
Etymologists believe the word comes from Old English. The old word was ‘butterfleoge.’ There are many theories about where the term comes from, but the most common one has to do with witches of lore. Ancients believed that witches would resemble butterflies in shape and size. They would use this form to steal milk and butter. Hence, the actual insects ended up getting the name ‘butterfly.’ Another theory is that the name comes from a member of the Pieridae family. Early naturalists in Britain...
2| The Cabbage White is likely the most common butterfly in North America.
The Cabbage White butterfly is a mid-sized butterfly that usually has a combination of white, cream, yellow and black marbled wings. They can also have greenish marbling on the wings. It is not only one of the more common butterflies globally, but it is also the most common butterfly in the U.S.
3| The Lotis Blue (Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis) is one of the rarest butterflies in the world.
The Lotis Blue Butterfly is a small butterfly with only a wingspan of about an inch (2.5 cm). They are beautiful blue butterflies that live throughout most of northern North America. They are endangered butterflies due to fires burning through much of their native peat regions. There have been reports that this butterfly is extinct. It has been rediscovered many times even after years of pulling a disappearing act. This time, the butterfly has not been seen in the wild since 1994. Some conser...
Butterflies belong to the class Insecta. From there, all butterflies and moths are pulled out into the order Lepidoptera. There are seven families of butterflies. These contain thousands of species distributed across the world.
1.0 Family Hedylidae: American Moth-Butterflies
Hedylidae moth-butterflies are an interesting grey area between butterflies and moths. They were viewed as an extant sister group to the superfamily of butterflies. However, in 1986, naturalists combined the group into a single genus called Macrosoma. This genus is a novel group of butterflies and is the only group of butterflies that doesn’t fall under the superfamily Papilionoidea.
2.0 Family Hesperiidae: Skippers
Skippers are another genera in the order Lepidoptera that blur the line between moths and butterflies. Since they are diurnal, they are called butterflies. Many of them have brown tones across their wings and bodies. This coloring can make them difficult for an untrained eye to differentiate from moths. There are more than 3,500 species of skippers recognized around the world. The majority of them live in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America.
3.0 Family Lycaenidae: Blues, Hairstreaks and Coppers
The Lycaenidae family is the second-largest family of the Lepidoptera butterflies. There are more than 6,000 species that fall under this family worldwide. Altogether, the members of these families constitute about 30% of all known butterflies. Their common name is gossamer-winged butterflies. There are seven total subfamilies within this family. We will pull out some of the most common butterflies under each of these.
Learn about the different types of butterflies, their life cycle, their impact of climate change and some interesting facts. See pictures of 29 butterfly species and their characteristics.
Jul 7, 2021 · Butterflies are a type of invertebrate insect with 4 wings that are usually brightly colored. These animal types belong to the class Insecta in the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths both belong to this order). Butterflies are grouped into 6 families, and moths are in the family Hedylidae.
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Feb 18, 2020 · Learn about butterfly wings, proboscis, puddling, and more in this article. Find out how butterflies taste with their feet, drink from mud puddles, and avoid predators with tricks.
