Like all insects, butterflies & moths have a head, thorax, abdomen, two antennae & six legs.  Moths & butterflies have four wings that are almost always covered by colored scales & a coiled proboscis for drinking liquids such as flower nectar.  There are exceptions; some moths have wingless adults & some primitive moths lack a proboscis. Generally butterflies are brightly colored & fly around during day light hours.  Moths tend to be "brown" & are attracted to light at night.

Lepidoptera is derived from the Latin words
"lepido" = scale + "ptera" = wing.  

     Butterflies & moths are found on all continents except Antarctica. There are approximately 12-15,000 species of butterflies & 150-250,000 species of moths.

There are more than 20 butterflies & moths listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.   Most of these species may become extinct due to loss of their habitat.

Butterfly & moth wings are made of thin layers of chitin--the same hardened protein that makes up their outside body--& are covered with thousands of tiny scales that lend color to the wings.  The wings are strengthened by a system of veins. The wings have to be strong enough to support the body in the air, but still flexible enough for flight movements.

The colors of butterfly & moth wings may serve several purposes.  Colors are often used in courtship, so that male & female butterflies recognize each other as the same species.  Bright colors may also warn birds or other predators that a particular butterfly, such as a Monarch, is bad-tasting.  Other butterflies & moths, although perfectly edible, may have colors that "mimic" the bad-tasting species.  Finally, certain color patterns may help the butterfly or moth blend into its background & be protected from birds or other would-be predators by "background resemblance."      

Butterflies use the strong muscles in their thorax to force their wings up & down on a fulcrum basis so they can fly.  Their wings go in a slanted figure 8 motion that propels them forward through the air in the same principle as an airplane.

     Caterpillars are the eating and growing stage for the butterfly, but they cannot mate & reproduce. The adult butterfly is both the mating & egg-laying stage of the beautiful insect.  Also adult butterflies can disperse by flight, sometimes long distances, to either colonize new areas with fresh plants for the caterpillars or even migrate long distances to escape freezing winters, such as Monarchs flying to Mexico or coastal California for the winter.

Cocoons, a stage in the moth life cycle, are pretty tough as long as nobody squeezes them. Handle them carefully by the silk part. Don't handle a chrysalis though, the butterfly's metamorphic stage.  They are much more delicate.

Medium to large butterflies can be safely handled & released by persons who know how to do it.  Butterflies can be fatally damaged by being handled improperly.  If the vein on the front wing if broken will cause the butterfly to be flightless evermore.  Their internal organs can also be injured.

Different butterfly species have different adult potential life spans.  An average butterfly species has an adult life span of 2 weeks or less. Adult butterflies can not live more than a year. Monarchs & Swallowtails may live about a month in the summer, but the Monarchs that migrate to Mexico or the California coast may live up to 6 months.

The best way to "catch" a butterfly or moth is to raise it from the caterpillar stage. Then when the butterfly or moth hatches out you can observe it & then let it go.  Some stores provide kits that have a net with them & you can go into fields or mountains to catch butterflies or moths.

Photographing a live butterfly in nature can be more challenging than netting one & you can keep your "collection" in a photo album, color slide tray or post them on the web. 
     
     
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Butterflies & Flutterbyes R Free
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