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Butterflies

Discover Fluttering Butterflies

On average, butterflies lay 100 eggs of which only one may grow into a butterfly. Parasites, fungus, wasps and other predators destroy most of the eggs. Eggs that survive hatch into caterpillars that grow and pupate to form a chrysalis. Inside this chrysalis, the caterpillar transforms into a fragile, winged adult. When the butterfly emerges, its wings are still small and limp, but within 30 minutes body fluids pump them up to full size and the veins and surface stiffen. Butterflies typically lay their eggs in late spring and hatch 3-6 days after they are laid. It takes 3-4 weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9-14 days to emerge as an adult.

Since butterflies are cold blooded it is necessary for them to warm up their flight muscles by basking in the sun. Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees (F). Butterfly wings flap 5-20 times per second and can fly at a speed of up to 50 kph. The average life expectancy of a butterfly is about 2 weeks and some as little as 2 days. No butterfly is known to live longer than a year.

Many people think butterflies are just “fancy moths” but there are several differences:

Most butterflies fly during the day whereas moths fly at night.
Butterflies have a feeding mechanism (proboscis). Most moths don’t need a feeding mechanism because they don’t eat as adults – only as caterpillars.
Butterflies rest with their wings closed and moths land with them open.
A butterfly forms a hanging pupa. A moth forms a cocoon, usually on the ground.
The antennae of a butterfly are straight and club-like. The antennae of a moth vary greatly but are usually brush like and are much larger.

Fun facts:

Some people say that when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
The word butterfly came from the English word Buttorfleoge. Perhaps because, in mediaeval times, butterflies could be seen hovering around butterchurns or that their excrement is yellowish in colour.
The Painted Lady is the most wide spread butterfly species in the world. Occurring on all continents accept South America and Antarctica.
Worldwide the smallest are the Pygmy butterflies at 11mm.
Queen Victoria Birdwing is the world’s largest with a wingspan up to 27.5cm and weighing up to 2-3g.
There are 292 species of butterflies in Canada. Most of which are found in British Columbia (176) and Ontario (142).
To date in North America, only one butterfly species is believed to be extinct but several more are considered endangered.
There are 140, 000 recorded species of moths and 24, 000 butterflies around the world.

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