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Butterflies are insects.

A butterflys lifecycle is made up of four parts,

egg, larva (caterpillars), pupa (chrysalis) andadult.

Butterflies attach their eggs to leaves with aspecial glue.

Most caterpillars are plant eaters (herbivores).

Fully grown caterpillars attach themselves to asuitable twig or leaf before shedding theiroutside layer of sin to reveal a hard sinunderneath nown as a chrysalis.

An adult butterfly will eventually emerge fromthe chrysalis where it will wait a few hours for

its wings to fill with blood and dry, before flyingfor the first time.

Butterflies can live in the adult stage fromanywhere between a wee and a year,depending on the species.

Butterflies have four wings.

Butterflies often have brightly coloured wingswith uni!ue patterns made up of tiny scales.

Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers.

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). *hey have four win!s which are actually

transparent. *he vivid colors are due to

overlappin! bri!ht scales. *he win!s are very

delicate and can !et dama!ed if touched lifted

or held by hands. *he scales too can !et

rubbed off if touched.

+. ,any of them have intricate and pretty

patterns on their win!s. *hese desi!ns are

intended for camoufla!e purposes. omedesi!ns deceive predators into thinkin! them to

be some other lar!er creature.

. *hese patterns are also useful in courtship

rituals. *hese insects fly in circles around one

another to find a mate.

/. ome lay their e!!s on the underside ofspecific plants. 0thers like the abba!e 2hite

Butterfly lay their e!!s on cabba!e leaves3 the

e!!s and caterpillars that emer!e are velvety

!reen and blend in well with the cabba!e

leaves.

4. ome butterfly species like the 5ainted &adyare mi!ratory and are known to fly thousands of

miles durin! winters.

6. *hey are found worldwide e7cept on the

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continent of #ntarctica.

1$. *hey cannot fly if their body temperature is

less than 48 F.

11. Bein! cold-blooded it becomes necessary

for them to !et warm with the help of their fli!ht

muscles. *hey achieve this by baskin! under the

sun so that they can absorb the sunrays.

1". *hey tend to thrive mostly in the *ropics

where the abundant fauna provides them withfood and breedin! !rounds.

1%. Instead of a mouth butterflies have a lon!

straw-like structure called proboscis. *hey taste

food by standin! on it. *his is because their

taste sensors are found in their feet.

1). *he body of an adult butterfly is divided intohead thora7 and abdomen. *hey have si7 le!s.

1+. 5ollen !ets attached to the le!s of the

butterfly and is carried from plant to plant

assistin! in fertili9ation and the propa!ation of

new seeds and plants.

1. ,ost species are diurnal. *hey fly durin! theday and close their win!s while restin!.

1/. *hey wei!h as little as two rose petals:

14. Birdwin! butterflies possess lar!e an!ular

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win!s because of which they appear to fly like

birds.

16. 5arnassian butterflies have been found hi!h

up in the ;ocky ,ountains at altitudes of

1)$$$ feet.

"$. #s it increases in si9e the skin of the

caterpillar !rows with it and so it is necessary

for the insect to shed it. ,ost caterpillars shed

their out!rown skin five times before enterin!the pupa sta!e.

"1. Butterflies have very short lifespans. ome

such as ,onarchs and ,ournin! loaks can live

up to 6 to 1$ months but others live anywhere

from a few months to weeks or maybe even for

some hours."". #ll butterflies aren't nectar-lovin!. ome

like the ;ed #dmiral Butterfly have decidedly

peculiar tastes. *hey like rottin! fruit and animal

dun!.

"%. *hey e7crete ,econium a red li which is made up of wastematerial from the pupal sta!e.

"). ,ale wallowtail butterflies habitually !ather

around mud puddles to !et nutrients and

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minerals from the mud. *his is known as

(puddlin!(.

"+. ertain butterfly species like the ,onarch

Butterfly produce to7ins that discoura!e

predators from feedin! on them. In the

,onarch's case the to7in production is aided by

the milkweed plant on which it usually feeds.

". aterpillars are boneless but have over

1$$$ muscles. *hese muscles help thecaterpillar move very

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%$. ome butterflies are becomin!