Life Cycle of Butterflies December 2004

Butterfly  Stage 1 – The Egg  Stage 2 – The Caterpillar 2 nd -3 rd Week  Stage 3 – The Chrysalis 4 th -7 th Week  Stage 4 – The Adult Butterfly 8 th Week 

What use are butterflies?  Butterflies are important pollinators, fourth in importance after beetles, flies and bees.  Few caterpillars of butterflies are listed as economic pests.  Butterflies are as useful in the teaching of natural history as are birds, but unlike birds, they may be studied more closely by collecting.  Butterflies are objects of beauty and myth that were appreciated by the Mayans, Aztecs, Greeks and other older cultures. Our largest butterfly - the two-tailed tiger swallowtail or llamorada was known to the Aztecs as Xochiquetzalpapalotl, and considered one of the forms taken by their deity.  Butterflies are a source of inspiration to artists and poets.

How long have butterflies been around?  Butterflies evolved from moths sometime between 245 million years ago (when the oldest fossil moths were preserved in Triassic rocks) and 110 million years ago (when the oldest butterfly parts were preserved in Cretaceous amber).  By 40 million years ago the major family groups of butterflies were found in Eocene rocks.

Interesting Facts About Butterflies……...  In North America there are over 700 species of butterflies. Worldwide there are about 28,000 species of butterflies.  A caterpillar increases its body size thousands of times from hatching out of the egg to pupation. As caterpillars grow they shed their skin.  Butterflies do not make cocoons. Butterflies develop from eggs to caterpillars, and during the pupa stage they harden into chrysalis. After a few weeks the adult butterfly will emerge from its chrysalis.  Butterflies range in size from 1/8 inch to almost 12 inches.  All butterflies have six legs and feet.

Interesting Facts About Butterflies II  Butterflies taste their food through their feet not their proboscis (straw-like structure), which they use to drink nectar and juices.  Butterflies use their antennas to smell.  If their body temperature is less than 86 degrees butterflies cannot fly, so often butterflies absorb heat by basking in the sun.  Butterflies prefer flowers that are pink, yellow, red, or purple and have single petals.  After bees, butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators.

Did you know that…………………………  The word butterfly came from the English word Buttorfleoge. Perhaps because, in mediaeval times, butterflies could be seen hovering around butter churns or that their excrement is yellowish in color.  There are 292 species of butterflies in U.S.A.  Some butterflies, such as the Northern Pearly Eye, will fly at night.  Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators.....next to bees.  Harvester larvae are carnivorous. They feed on aphids not plants.  Monarchs have been known to migrate over 3000km.  Butterflies don't have lungs.  Butterflies taste with their feet.

Where do butterflies come from? Butterflies comes from a chrysalis (KRIS-uh-liss) which is also called a pupa. A chrysalis looks like a tiny leathery pouch. You can find one underneath some leaves in the summer. Some animals don't change much as they grow up. Think about it: someone your age looks a lot like a grown-up. Grown-ups have more wrinkles and gray hair. But they still have two arms, two legs and one head—just like you. We're going to meet an animal that's very different—the butterfly. Butterflies go through four life stages, and they look very different at each stage.

How to make your own butterfly? Toilet-paper tube Tongue depressor or ice- cream pop stick Heavy paper 6" (150 mm) piece of pipe cleaner, folded in half Markers or crayons Scissors and glue

1.Cut out and color a butterfly from the heavy paper. Use any colors, but make both halves look the same. Put a small hole at the top of the butterfly's head. 2. Color the toilet paper tube to look like a chrysalis. (A monarch butterfly's chrysalis is green, but you can use any color.) 3. Take a piece of pipe cleaner and shape it like the letter "V". Put one point through the little hole in the butterfly's head and then twist it to look like antennae. Butterflies use these "feelers" to learn about their environment. 4. Glue the butterfly to one end of the tongue depressor or ice-cream pop stick. Let the glue dry. 5.Curl the butterfly's wings and slide it into the chrysalis. 6. Pull the stick to make the beautiful butterfly come out of the chrysalis. Fly your butterfly like a real one!

The End Angineh Hambarchian EED515