Butterflies: The Scaly Winged Creatures that Flutter in Your Backyard

Butterflies belong to a group of insects called Lepidoptera, which means they have wings covered in tiny scales. These scales are so small that they look like shimmering dust without a microscope. If you have ever held a butterfly, you may have noticed a powder left behind on your fingers or hands. This powder is butterfly scales that have rubbed off its wings. "If you touch a butterfly gently, it will lose some scales, but rarely enough to prevent it from flying." (Hadley, 2020)

Catching a Butterfly — The best way to catch a butterfly is to use a special net made for catching butterflies. These nets are soft and are less likely to tear the wings. When you catch a butterfly, it is important not to tear its wings. If the wings tear, it will have difficulty flying and may not survive.

Containing a Butterfly — Butterflies are wild creatures and will do best in nature. If you want to observe the butterfly briefly, ensure the enclosure is made from a similar material to a butterfly net. A container made of hard surfaces can hurt its wings if it flaps against the sides.

Holding a Butterfly — It is important to be careful when holding a butterfly. Using a very soft touch, gently bring all four wings together. Make sure the wings are held securely. Holding the wings close to the butterfly's body helps it stay calm. If you hold it softly and briefly, the butterfly will gracefully take flight once released and continue its life unharmed.

Butterflies are colorful insects and one of the most diverse animals on the planet. While butterflies rely on warm weather, they can live in places that are not always warm. Some butterflies can live in cold weather because they are unique, but most butterflies live worldwide where the weather is warm. Antarctica is the only continent where butterflies cannot live.

Butterflies love the sunshine and are active during the day. When it gets dark or during bad weather, butterflies find shelter. They hide on the underside of leaves, in the crevices of the bark of trees, and between rocks and other objects.

Butterflies have a hard covering outside their body called an exoskeleton. They do not have a skeleton on the inside body like other animals. An exoskeleton is like having skin made of bones. The exoskeleton protects the internal organs and holds the shape of the butterfly.

Adult Butterflies — Most adult butterflies love to drink nectar from beautiful flowers. They use a special long tube called a proboscis that acts like a straw. Some butterflies also eat rotting fruit and pollen.

Caterpillars — When butterflies are in the caterpillar stage, also known as larvae, they eat plants. Most eat leaves, seeds, stems, roots, fruits, and flowers. Also, some butterflies are carnivorous and eat ant larvae or aphids.

A butterfly undergoes big changes over their lifetime. They go from an egg to a fluttering adult. This process takes four different stages and is called metamorphosis.

STAGE 1: Egg — An adult butterfly lays eggs on a plant that the butterfly likes to eat. When the butterfly hatches, this plant will become its first meal.

STAGE 2: Larva — Once the butterfly hatches from its egg, it becomes a larva, also called a caterpillar. Caterpillars have one main job, to eat. They eat as much food as possible to have enough energy for their metamorphosis in the next stage. Caterpillars grow 100 times their size during this stage.

STAGE 3: Chrysalis — When the caterpillar grows big enough, it attaches itself to a twig or steady support. The exoskeleton falls off, leaving a sack. This sack is called a chrysalis. While the caterpillar is in the chrysalis, it changes into the shape of an adult butterfly. This change can take only a few days or over a year if the conditions are not right.

STAGE 4: Adult — The adult butterfly comes out of the chrysalis. If it is too cold when the adults emerge from the chrysalis, they will find a sunny spot and spread their wings to warm up so they can fly. During this stage, the butterfly helps pollinate the plants fluttering from flower to flower.