All You Need to Know about Butterflies and Their Lifestyle - By: liss

We all love butterflies. Is there anyone on this earth who doesn't love to watch the charm of butterflies in their garden? It is said that a butterfly that lives for hardly eight days and never worries about its death. Human beings who live for on average 60 years sit and brood about their worries all the time. We should actually learn to lead worry-free lives from these wonderful creatures. Have you ever observed their vibrant colors? Nature has naturally designed these creatures with numerous LEDs in the form of scales. Well, LEDs are small light emitting diodes which emit colors such as green, yellow and red. These lights are fit into computers, electronic devices, traffic signals and toys.

Are you curious to know about the life cycles of a butterfly? The first stage in the life cycle of any butterfly is the egg. The egg is covered with a rigid and hard layer called chorion. The outer layer is thick and it is covered by wax to prevent it from drying. The eggs are usually spherical or oval in shape. The egg stage lasts for only about a few weeks. The eggs are usually laid on one particular species of plants or a common family. The second stage which is the larva or caterpillar stage is spent in search of food. Most of these caterpillars are herbivores except for a few species. You can find very interesting stripes and patterns in them. During this stage the caterpillar sheds its skin around four or five times as it is constantly growing and it eats a lot of food.

The chrysalis stage is the third stage in which caterpillar tissues get broken down and the tissues of the butterfly are formed. The color of the chrysalis is generally green or brown and the color matches with the atmosphere very much so that they are practically invisible. From here the last stage is the adult stage where the colorful butterfly is born. These butterflies then go ahead to form colonies and then mate and lay eggs. Such is the wonderful life cycle of a butterfly. It's amazing. Isn't it? The best part is the complete transformation in their physical forms. They look entirely different in each and every stage of their life cycle. By the way did you know where to find an evening brown butterfly pupa? It's difficult but if you notice clearly they will be found hanging under the blades of long grass.

Butterflies fly extremely well. They will be able to fly only when their body temperature is above 86 degrees. In order to do this, they first warm their bodies in the sun for a while during cold seasons. In due course of time as they age, the color of their wings fades away and starts to look ragged. Their primary food is nectar but some species get their food from rotten fruits, mud, dung and even carcasses. Butterflies usually have a sharp sense of smell. If human beings develop such a sharp sense for odor, then a lot of fire accidents can be prevented.

Are butterflies poisonous? The answer is no because even though some are poisonous, they are not so poisonous enough to kill human beings. But there is a moth in Africa whose caterpillar is poisonous enough to kill an antelope. The local tribes dip their arrows with this poison to kill animals. Usually these caterpillars get this poisonous nature from the food that they consume. When birds consume such caterpillars, they usually vomit or spit out the caterpillar and avoid eating them in future. I recently watched an interesting program about butterflies on my TV provided by FIOS TV. It was truly an eye opener.

About the Author

Ann is a freelancer. She loves butterflies and I enjoy writing about them. I have a passion for insects. My favorite past time is to sit on my couch and watch various programs about insects especially butterflies on my television provided by http://deals.telcoservicesgroup.net/fios-tv">FiOS TV.

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