Introduction
Butterflies are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera, along with moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly colored wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, along with two smaller groups, the skippers (superfamily Hesperioidea) and the moth-butterflies (superfamily Hedyloidea). Butterfly fossils date to the Palaeocene, about 56 million years ago.
Fun Facts
- Butterflies range in size from a tiny 1/8 inch to a huge almost 12 inches.
- Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow.
- The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
- Monarch butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again in the spring.
- Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.
- Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.
- Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera have been found.
- There are about 24,000 species of butterflies. The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.
- The Brimstone butterfly (Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifetime of the adult butterflies: 9-10 months.
Common Butterflies
Monarch
Monarch butterflies are known for the incredible mass migration that brings millions of them to California and Mexico each winter. North American monarchs are the only butterflies that make such a massive journey of up to 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers). The insects must begin this journey each fall ahead of cold weather, which will kill them if they tarry too long.
Swallowtail
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica.
The forked appearance of the swallowtails' hind wings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread, gave rise to the common name swallowtail.
Painted Lady
Painted Ladies are medium-sized butterflies, with a wingspan of two inches. The top sides of their wings are orange with black blotches and white spots.
These butterflies migrate from the South every Spring. When cold weather arrives, they head back South, though most of them don't seem to make it. Their migration is still a great mystery.