Little Known Truths About Beautiful Butterflies

Butterfly, Butterflies, Winged Wonders - Kevin Cole

Butterflies are one of the joys of nature, and many gardeners work diligently to attract them to their gardens. Just how fascinating are these insects?

Wildlife in the garden has always been a worthwhile goal. Birds are garden favorites. And so are those winged wonders, butterflies. But before attempting to attract butterflies to the garden, it pays to find out a little about them.
What are some of the things that make butterflies special?

Butterfly Facts

• In North America alone, there are over 700 species of butterfly. World wide, there are around 24,000 species. Most all of these are beneficial insects.
• Some butterflies are tiny, like the Pygmy Blue, a half-inch wonder found in Southern California. Compare that one to the female Queen Alexandra's Birdwing of New Guinea, a giant with a ten inch wing spread.
• While most butterflies are short lived, the Brimstone can live up to 10 months. The average live of a butterfly - about one month. Smaller insects will usually have shorter lifespans.
• Butterflies have color vision - they can see red, green and yellow.
• Cocoons are for moths. Butterflies don't produce one. Metamorphosis takes place in the chrysalis, which is the hardened outer skin of the pupa. This skin protects the pupa during its "change of life".

Butterfly Eating Habits

• Butterflies taste with their feet. These feet (called "larsi") sense sweet things like nectar and sugar water. When the larsi contacts these sweet substances, the butterfly's proboscis automatically uncoils. Butterfly larsi can also identify leaves suitable for laying eggs and as food for the butterfly's caterpillars.
• A butterfly appears to eat with its nose. But not really. Their eating appendage (called a proboscis) is not really a nose, but a tube-shaped, straw-like mouth part. Butterflies use their proboscis to suck up sugary sweet liquids, like nectar and fruit juices. Butterflies like to slurp up liquids from rotten fruit slices, like overripe bananas or watermelon.
• Native plants and butterflies are co-dependent. They've evolved together, native plants supplying delicious, nutritious nectar in return for the butterfly's pollination services. Many native or naturalized flowers, like certain daylilies, are also butterfly favorites.
• Butterfly caterpillars are voracious eaters. From the time the egg hatches to when they pupate (or form chrysalis), a caterpillar might increase in size more than 30,000 times. Imagine an elephant doing that!
• Butterflies need two types of plants to set up housekeeping in a garden - a food source for their caterpillars (who eat only leaves), and a food source for adult butterflies (nectar or fruit producers).

The Butterfly - Winged Wonder

• What makes a butterfly shimmer in radiant color? Millions of specialized scales in their wings overlap like shingles. Light striking these scales produces colorful patterns. Some of these hues are metallic and iridescent, created by faceted scales refracting light. More solid colors come from pigmented scales.
• Without these overlapping scales, a butterfly's wings would appear transparent. It's the scales that give the butterflies their characteristic colors.
• Gossamer Wings are a group of butterflies that includes the blues, elfins and hairstreaks. Their chrysalises (or pupae) can generate weak sounds by rubbing and flexing body segment membranes together. These sounds may be created to scare off small predators or parasites.
• Some butterflies are migratory. Monarch butterflies travel from the Great Lake region to the Gulf of Mexico - about 2000 miles - and return north in the spring.

Butterflies are wondrous insects, both functional as pollinators and aesthetically appealing. Their fluttering, colorful flight from flower to flower is a joy to behold. Knowing the facts about butterflies is the first step in attracting these beneficial insects to the garden.