FACTS
scientists estimate that there are between 15000 and 20000 different species of butterflies.

Butterflies can't hear, but they can feel vibrations. 

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Butterflies don't have lungs.

Butterflies breath through openings on their abdomen called 'spiracles'.

Butterflies smell with their antennae.

Millions of shingle like overlapping scales give butterfly wings their colour.

Butterflies are still able to fly if their scales are removed, they are just less colourful!

Butterflies are divided into two main groups called skippers (hesperioidea) and true butterflies (papilionoidea).

Female butterflies are usually bigger and live longer than male butterflies.

The Queen Alexandra's birdwing from the island of New Guinea is the largest butterfly - it can have a wingspan of 27 cm!

Butterflies are related to crabs and lobsters! Why? Because they have skeletons on the outside of their bodies (exoskeletons).

There are about 24,000 species of butterfly . Australia has 385 species of butterfly, nearly 70% of which are found in the rainforests of the Wet Tropics. The Painted Lady is the most wide spread butterfly species in the world, occurring on all continents except South America and Antarctica. 

Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths & skippers) have been found . Look but don't touch - many caterpillars are covered with stinging hairs which carry a toxin that can be quite painful to humans if touched.

Some butterflies, such as the Northern Pearly Eye, will fly at night .
Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators , bees are the largest

Monarch butterflies have been known to migrate over 3000km.

the largest threat butterflies is loss of habitat.
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             RARE BUTTERFLIES
1.Butterflies have large, often brightly colored wings, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts, signifying beauty, freedom and the the coming of spring.
You’ll find these beautiful specimen in the canopies of the Central American forests. The Morpho butterflies are easy to spot thanks to their massive, bright, iridescent blue colored wings. The real beauty, though, is when the blue Morpho flies: the contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like it is appearing and disappearing.

Found in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and parts of South Asia, the Banded Peacock is known as quite the fast flyer. Its name comes from the pattern of black and green wing bands, reminiscent of a peacock.

Every year in September, the orange and black Monarchs begin their migration to Mexico for the winter. The journey can be as long as 2,800 miles. Sadly, climate change is making winters in Mexico colder and wetter, and summer breeding grounds are becoming hotter and drier and combined with the common use of herbicide in America has all but eliminated the Monarch’s primary food source -  the milkweed plant.
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Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their 

larvae, known ascaterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosisis complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out and, after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their whole life cycle.



Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have parasitoidal relationships with organisms including protozoans, flies, ants, and other invertebrates, and are predated by vertebrates. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

This butterfly is very rare and it is found in India

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Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known ascaterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosisis complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out and, after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their whole life cycle.

Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Some butterflies have parasitoidal relationships with organisms including protozoans, flies, ants, and other invertebrates, and are predated by vertebrates. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants, and caterpillars of a few butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts.

 Butterflies are very good fliers. They have two pairs of large wings covered with colorful, iridescent scales in overlapping rows. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are the only insects that have scaly wings. Veins support the delicate wings and nourish them with blood.Butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees. Butterflies sun themselves to warm up in cool weather. As butterflies age, the color of the wings fades and the wings become ragged.The speed varies among butterfly species (the poisonous varieties are slower than non-poisonous varieties). The fastest butterflies (some skippers) can fly at about 30 mile per hour or faster. Slow flying butterflies fly about 5 mph. 

LIFE-CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY

Butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis in which they go through four different life stages.

 Egg - A butterfly starts its life as an egg, often laid on a leaf.

Larva - The larva (caterpillar) hatches from an egg and eats leaves or flowers almost constantly. The caterpillar molts (loses its old skin) many times as it grows. The caterpillar will increase up to several thousand times in size before pupating.

Pupa - It turns into a pupa (chrysalis); this is a resting stage.

Adult - A beautiful, flying adult emerges. This adult will continue the cycle.

DIET 

Butterflies and moths can only sip liquid food using a tube-like proboscis, which is a long, flexible "tongue." This proboscis uncoils to sip food, and coils up again into a spiral when not in use. Most butterflies live on nectar from flowers. Some butterflies sip the liquid from rotting fruits and a rare few prefer rotting animal flesh or animal fluids (the Harvester butterfly pierces the bodies of woolly aphids with its sharp proboscis and drinks the body fluids). 

HABITAT

Butterflies are found all over the world and in all types of environments: hot and cold, dry and moist, at sea level and high in the mountains. Most butterfly species, however, are found in tropical areas, especially tropical rainforests. Many butterflies migrate in order to avoid adverse environmental conditions (like cold weather). Butterfly migration is not well understood. Most migrate relatively short distances (like the Painted Lady, the Red Admiral, but a few (like some Monarchs) migrate thousands of miles. 

 BUTTERFLY FOSSILS

Butterfly fossils are rare. The earliest butterfly fossils are from the early Cretaceous period, about 130 million years ago. Their development is closely linked to the evolution of flowering plants (angiosperms) since both adult butterflies and caterpillars feed on flowering plants, and the adults are important pollinators of many flowering plants. Flowering plants also evolved during the Cretaceous period. 

RARE BUTTERFLIES

Butterflies are some of the most beautiful creatures to look at in all of nature. They bring a certain sense of peace and harmony to any given surrounding. The butterflies seen here are extremely rare and placed high atop the endangered species list. It would be a real shame to lose them, especially after you see just how beautiful they are.There are many butterflies that are about to be extinct,here the names of some butterflies.
1.The Monarch.
The orange and black Monarch is a North American native that begins its migration to Mexico for the winter. The Monarch has quite a journey too, spanning between 1,200 to 2,800 miles (1,931 km to 4,506 km). There are about 33 million Monarchs remaining in existence today. 
2.  Sapho Longwing.
This gorgeous light blue and white butterfly is a native of Costa Rica and certain rainforests in Belize. Sapho Longwings differ from other butterfly species in that they only breed on one specific plant. 
3. Blue Morpho.
Blue Morphos are very easy to spot, since their enormous bright blue wings stretch nearly 8 inches across (20 cm) in size. They appear almost invisible when they take off, due to their dark brown and bright blue colors intertwining together. 
4. Question Mark butterflies.
This beautiful butterfly can be found in North America. They mainly reside in wooded areas and city parks, or generally in areas that have trees and free spaces. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 1.7 to 2.9 inches (4.5–7.6 cm). 
5. Mitchell's Satyr.
​Neonympha mitchellii is an endangered species of nymphalid butterfly from eastern America. 
6.Purple Emperor.
The Purple Emperor (Apatura iris) butterfly is Eurasian. Adults can be identified by their dark brown wings with white bands and spots and an orange ring on each of the hind wings. Males usually have a wingspan of about 2.8–3.1 inches (70–80 mm), and have a purple-blue sheen that the slightly larger females do not have. 
7.Banded Peacock.
The Banded Peacock is a South Asian native, seen mostly throughout parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. The lime green and dark black colors easily distinguish them from other species.
8.Ceylon rose.
The Ceylon Rose, sometimes Sri Lankan Rose (Pachliopta jophon) is a butterfly found in Sri Lanka that belongs to the Swallowtail family. It was earlier classified as a subspecies of Crimson Rose. It is critically endangered, declining due to loss of habitat. 
9.Chimera Birdwing.
The Chimaera Birdwing (Ornithoptera chimaera) is a birdwing butterfly of the papilionidae family. It is found in mountain areas of New Guinea, at altitudes of over half a mile (1,000 meters) above sea level. 
10. Glasswing Butterfly.
This beautiful butterfly, named 'Greta oto', but nicknamed the 'glass butterfly', has 2.3 inches (6 cm) of incredibly beautiful, and completely transparent, wings. Adult glass butterflies also exhibit a number of interesting behaviors, such as long migrations. 

Life Cycle of a butterfly

Butterflies start off like this:

This is the life cycle of a butterfly. The life cycle is also called Metamorphosis.