Kelty's Butterfly Pamphlet
Life Cycle
Butterflies are holometabolous.
This means that they go through four stages in their life:
1. Egg – Are laid on or near the plant that the caterpillars will soon need to eat
2. Larvae (caterpillar) – This is the fattening up stage. All a caterpillars’ time is spent eating to build up enough energy for the next stage.
3. Pupa (chrysalis) – In this stage the caterpillar’s body dissolves and reforms 
into the next stage of life.
4. Imago (Adult butterfly)
Habitat
Butterflies are very good at surviving in all types of environments. 
The only places that they cannot survive are very cold or arid locations.
Food
Larvae: plants
Adults: flower nectar
Predators
Birds and insects are the main predators of the larvae. Birds, bats, and spiders are the main predators of adult butterflies.
. Help Butterflies: .
A vital endangered . Insect .
Reproduction
Every butterfly has a series of tubes in its body, and when the butterfly is ready to mate, either sperm (male) or an egg (female) are carried through the tubes to the outside of the body.
Locomotion
Flight - Butterflies have been known to fly as fast as 30mph. They need to able to fly fast because they migrate every fall. They fly south to escape the cold. This migration takes several generations, and is often thousands of miles long. The most famous of these migrations is the monarch butterfly migration to Mexico, in which that travel from as far north as Canada. The fore and hind wing sets are not attached, which results in much more graceful flight. The wings are covered in scales that contain pigment, which creates various patters on their bodies.
Special Adaptations
Many butterflies use mimicry to hide from predators. Butterflies have adapted to have excellent camouflage, ranging from being able to impersonate an owl to being able to mimic a leaf or a stick.
Evolution
The order to which butterflies belong is Lepidoptera. This is said to be the most recently evolved of all insect orders, except for fleas. No one is sure of when or where butterflies came to be. There are estimates ranging from 250 million years ago (mya) to 70mya, originating either in south-east Asia or Pangaea. Butterfly populations have evolved very quickly when threatened. Recently, a group of male blue moon butterflies on a south pacific island, encountered a parasite that was threatening their population. In less than a year, the butterflies evolved immunity and make a huge recovery.
Are butterflies important?
It turns out that they are very important. They are the second most productive pollinators, behind bees. Plants depend on butterflies for their reproductive survival. Butterflies, one of the most beautiful creatures in our world, have bright colors and a uniquely graceful flight which have dazzled many for thousands of years.
Coloring activity
- 1 – Antenna (black)
- 2 – Head (black)
- 3 - Compound eye (black)
- 4 – Proboscis (black)
- 5 - Front leg (black)
- 6 - Middle leg (black)
- 7 - Thorax (maroon)
- 8 - Femur (maroon)
- 9 - Tibia of a hind leg (black)
- 10 - Tarsus of a hind leg (black)
- 11 - Abdominal segment (maroon0
- 12 - Abdomen (maroon)
- 13 – Hind wing (brown and red with blue circle in the middle)
- 14 - Spur or tail (red)
- 15 - Outer margin (brownish white)
- 16 - Apex ( red with blue spots)
- 17 - Vein (black)
- 18 - forewing (brown and red with blue circle in middle)
- 19 - Costal margin (blue)
Status
Currently in the north-east United States the Karner Blue and Mitchell's satyr species as well as 16 other species of butterfly through out the world are endangered and may become extinct in the near future if nothing is done. Several species are threatened, meaning that they could soon become endangered.
What can the average citizen do?
Consciously making your garden butterfly-friendly is one great thing that can help conserve butterflies and allow you to enjoy their presence more. There are four main factors to look at when designing a butterfly garden.
Sunlight – Plant some of your plants in very sunny areas.
Food – Shrubs like lilac and butterfly bushes are excellent at providing plenty of nectar.
Water – A bowl full of wet sand is a perfect place for a butterfly to obtain moisture safely.
Shelter – Letting the native grasses and wildflowers grow up at the edges provides good shelter and wind protection for a butterfly over night.