They eat voraciously to transform plant material into tissues that they will need for metamorphosis. Plant associations. Butterflies are commonly associated with plants, and the relationship is sometimes complex. Immatures, with few exceptions, eat plants, and therefore may be considered harmful to the plants. However, butterflies are very important to many plants that are dependent upon flower-visiting insects for cross-pollination.
Most butterfly caterpillars eat one, or sometimes several, related species of plants. Usually the choice is made by the adult female when depositing eggs. Adults usually feed on nectar from flowers of plants, although many butterflies feed instead on rotting fruit, dung, etc. Butterfly migration is best exemplified by the Monarch, which is widely known to migrate in the fall to overwintering sites in California and Mexico.
But in the United States, several other butterfly species engage in lesser migration distances. Wing colors in butterflies appear in two types, pigment and structural, frequently combined in one individual. Pigment colors are familiar in paints, dyes, and inks, and are defined as specific substances with definite chemical composition. Structural colors are instead produced in a physical manner, similar to a rainbow.
Morpho butterflies are the usual example of butterflies with structural color. The vision of butterflies appears to be excellent, especially within short distances. They are able to fly with precision in areas of many obstacles. Mating Behavior. Females are usually able to engage in mating on the day of emergence, but males do not normally mate for several days. Courtship rituals vary widely among species. Butterflies are currently, with some arguments, placed into the following six families:.
Known as "Skippers," containing relatively small, fast-flying species. About 3, worldwide species. Blues, Hairstreaks and Coppers. Colors and patterns of sexes often differ. Over 5, world species. Known as "Brush-footed" butterflies, contains many subfamilies. There are some 5, worldwide species. They are so similar that this butterfly's identification relies largely on a quite minor difference in the hindwing markings. The viceroy is one of the most well-known cases of mimicry among North American butterflies the viceroy's relatives are nearly all black or dark blue.
The thinking among experts is that the monarch, which eats milkweed, is made poisonous by the caustic sap in the milkweed plant. This means that birds and other predators who have tried a nasty-tasting orange butterfly in the past will think twice when confronted with another one. Many butterflies in the monarch's range are orange like the monarch, possibly to gain protection from the resemblance, but the viceroy really takes it to an extreme.
The red-spotted purple is closely related to—get this—the viceroy the monarch-mimicking red-and-black butterfly pictured above. Even better, this pretty black-and-blue butterfly is believed to mimic the poisonous pipeline swallowtail check this species out further down.
That makes the Limenitis genus a pretty amazing bunch of copy-cats, adapting over millions of years to resemble animals that are poisonous and protected from predators.
The red-spotted purple is especially beautiful on the underside, so if you ever get to see one up close, you'll want to keep your camera handy. Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly Speyeria cybele. This bright orange butterfly wings fast across fields and around forest edges in mid- to late summer.
Some researchers think its orange color is meant to mimic the poisonous monarch butterfly's colors; if so, that makes it yet another in the orange-butterfly mimic category that may also include over a dozen unrelated species. The great spangled has lovely silver spots on the underside, which gives the insect its common name.
There are many similar, related species that occur across our area, many of which are quite rare and limited to specific areas in the mountainous western states. These big, beautiful butterflies can be identified by their bold yellow-and-black stripes, hence their common name.
These tigers have an unusual life history. The adults are on the wing in mid-summer, wheeling high among the branches of ash and cherry trees, where the big females lay their eggs. The caterpillar, which is green with little "false eye" spots near its head, feeds until it is about half grown, and then builds a little shelter by pulling together the edges of a leaf. It overwinters in this shelter, and in the spring emerges to continue feeding.
It will pupate in early summer, and then the adults hatch to complete the process. Another interesting fact about the tiger swallowtail is that some females, especially in the southern parts of its range, are almost all a smokey, dark brown in color. They hardly even look like tigers.
Experts have suggested that the reason for this "dimorphic" phase is in order to mimic the bad-tasting pipevine swallowtail, which is generally more common in the south than in the north. This beautiful insect is the northernmost species of a large tropical genus Battus that includes some of the most striking swallowtail butterflies in the tropics, which is saying something. The pipeline swallowtail is generally limited to the southern states, but it has been spotted as far south as Mexico and as far north as Manitoba, especially later in the summer as multiple broods spread north.
This insect is believed to be the model for a number of other species that mimic its blue-on-black coloring. The larvae and the adult may be poisonous or distasteful to predators like birds and lizards, making it a good idea to look the same whether or not you yourself are poisonous. Like the pipevine swallowtail above , this is a generally southern species that sometimes ranges as far north as Canada. The caterpillar closely resembles a large bird dropping, which would serve to deter birds and other predators.
In the American South, these big caterpillars are often called "orange dogs" for their choice of food plant: citrus trees, especially orange and lemon. In some cases they can cause damage to young trees. The sight of a big, beautiful giant swallowtail swooping around your garden plants is one you are not likely to soon forget! This beautiful insect aptly named, with black stripes on a clear white background. Like the giant swallowtail above , it is a northern representative of a group of butterflies that have many varieties throughout the Neotropics.
You will seldom find this species outside of the southern states, but it will sometimes wander north, for example along the Mississippi River Valley. Like all other swallowtails, the flight is strong and gliding, but they will often stop to nectar.
At these times you may see several visiting the same nectar source. Males also participate in a behavior known as "puddling," which is when a group of butterflies congregates at wet sand or mud to draw nutrients.
The caterpillar of the black swallowtail butterfly is sometimes called a "carrot worm. This common butterfly occurs in one form or another over pretty much the entire North American continent.
I chose to picture the male, which has more yellow on its hind wings; the female black swallowtail is larger and has much more blue on its hindwings, making it yet another North American butterfly that resembles the poisonous pipeline swallowtail.
Black swallowtails have a very striking caterpillar, often called the "carrot-worm" because it eats, you guessed it, carrots. Maybe the photo above looks familiar to you. Not a true beauty, perhaps, but this plain white insect is by far the most successful butterfly in North America.
It was introduced from Europe many years ago and has found a home everywhere from your backyard garden to the wilds of the western mountains. The very inconspicuous pale-green caterpillar of the cabbage white butterfly lives on the underside of many different leaves, especially cruciferous plants and other cultivars, and eats holes in the middle of the leaf; the damage is very familiar to even the most casual gardener. You can see the damage, but good luck finding one of the larvae—they are close to invisible.
The butterfly is not protected by poisonous compounds and doesn't really resemble known mimicry models like the orange monarch or the black-and-blue pipeline swallowtail, but it has become the single most common butterfly in city and countryside. The orange sulfur and the clouded sulfur both members of the "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae can be hard to tell apart, and often fly together, so I put them together here.
They are among the first butterflies to appear each spring, and they seem to have adapted very well to the disturbances humans cause in the landscape. Look out over the close-cut monoculture of a golf course or city park grounds and you'll probably see a few of these very common butterflies dancing across the grass. There are several other yellow species in the Coliadinae subfamily, and these butterflies all look much alike to the casual observer. For this guide, I am sticking to the most common.
The next species is one worth singling out. This butterfly can be difficult to tell apart from the previous one. The basic facts are all the same, and the larvae are basically indistinguishable, except to an expert. There are some differences in the colors and black wing margins, but even these characteristics are variable between individuals and between regions.
Usually only found in the South, this butterfly may be expected farther north as climate change alters the distribution of some species. This is a large, showy, and fast-flying butterfly that likes open fields and bright sunshine.
They are legendarily difficult to catch. Note the "dog face" profile in black on each upper wing that gives this butterfly its cool common name. I remember a field in Texas swarming with these butterflies; their speed and agility is impressive.
This beautiful butterfly is essentially tropical, with a range that extends into South America. In the US, it can be found in Florida and the southern states into Texas; there are occasional migrations that bring these butterflies even farther north.
Adults roost together at night in groups of over 50 individuals, dispersing in the morning to nectar at a variety of plants and—unusual for butterflies—consume pollen from flowers.
The caterpillars are white with black spines and feed on passionflower vines, whose toxic sap gives them chemical protection from predators. This subtly beautiful butterfly is best identified by the area in which it is found: the woods. It is relatively unusual to find large butterflies flying in woods or forests, and if the insect is pale brown, has round "eye spots" bordering the wings, and tends to land vertically on tree trunks, then there is a good chance it is a pearly eye or one of its close relatives.
How to identify common garden butterflies. Why do butterflies visit gardens? Why are gardens important for butterflies? Which butterflies am I likely to see in my garden? When: January-December. Red admiral Description: Black with broad, red stripes on the hindwings and forewings, and white spots near the tips of the forewings. Painted lady Description: Orange with black tips to the forewings that are adorned with white spots, and black spots on the hindwings and forewings.
When: April-October. Small tortoiseshell Description: Reddish-orange with black and yellow markings on the forewings and a ring of blue spots around the edge of the wings. Large white Description: White with prominent black tips to the forewings.
Small white Description: White with light grey tips to the forewings. Green-veined white Description: White with grey-black tips and one or two black spots on the forewings.
Orange-tip Description: Males are white with bold orange patches on the forewings and light grey wingtips. When: April-July. Meadow brown Description: Brown with washed-out orange patches on the forewings.
When: June-September. Small copper Description: Bright orange forewings with dark brown spots and a thick, dark brown margin. Holly blue Description: Bright blue with black spots on its silvery underside. When: April-September. Common blue Description: Males have bright blue wings with a brown border and white fringe.
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