People like observing beautiful butterflies as they flit from blossom to bloom.
How much do you truly know about these insects, from the smallest blues to the biggest swallowtail?
Here are 36 mesmerizing butterfly facts for kids.
Scientific classification of Butterfly
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Rhopalocera
Butterfly Facts 1-9
1. Butterflies are actually insects.
2. Every second, butterfly flap their wings approximately five times.
3. Butterflies use their front foot to taste their meal.
4. There are around 17,500 species of butterflies.
5. Some wintertime butterflies like hyphenating. They will conceal themselves in locations such as under foliage, in caverns, and even in your house.
6. Some butterfly species are threatened with extinction, and others have already vanished.
7. The four phases of a butterfly’s life cycle are egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis, and adult (butterfly).
8. Butterflies undergo a process of metamorphosis.
9. Every autumn, the monarch butterfly migrates over 1,800 miles from North America to milder regions in California and Mexico.
Butterfly Facts 10-18
10. Depending on the species, adult butterflies can live between one week and one year.
11. There are many various sizes and hues of butterflies.
The tiniest butterfly measures around 1/8 of an inch, while the biggest butterfly measures over 12 inches.
12. Butterflies can distinguish the hues green, red, and yellow. This will assist them in locating flowers.
13. The Blue Morpho butterfly is extremely costly and much sought after by affluent butterfly collectors.
14. If you have ever touched the wings of a butterfly, you may have had dust on your fingers.
This is not dust, but rather the scales that a butterfly’s wings lose over time.
Although this will not harm a butterfly, you should avoid touching its wings.
15. Lepidopterology is the study of butterflies, and a lepidopterist is someone who studies lepidopterology.
16. The majority of butterflies consume flower nectar.
17. Similar to other insects, butterflies have their skeletons on the exterior of their bodies.
This is known as an exoskeleton and it protects their inner bodies from dehydration.
18. When observing a butterfly, it may appear to have just two wings, but in fact has four.
Butterfly Facts 19-27
19. A butterfly’s wing is incredibly colorful. The wings are comprised of tiny scales.
20. The maximum velocity of a butterfly is 12 miles per hour.
21. Only one species of butterfly, the Birdwing butterfly, flies similarly to birds.
22. If their body temperature falls below 86 degrees Fahrenheit, butterflies lose their ability to fly.
23. The caterpillar of the butterfly will only consume the leaves of specific plant species because it needs the minerals and vitamins from these plants in order to develop into a butterfly.
24. The majority of mature butterflies will consume nectar from the flowers they reside around.
Butterflies will also consume water and other liquids from fruit, particularly decaying or squishy fruit.
25. Other butterflies obtain their nourishment from tree sap, decaying animal debris, and other organic stuff found in the wild.
It would be difficult for a butterfly to ingest solids with its tongue, hence they primarily consume liquids.
26. Butterflies and moths belong to the same insect order, known as “Lepidoptera.” Moths are more active at night, whereas butterflies prefer to fly during the day.
27. The lifespan of the Priam’s birdwing butterfly is barely ten days!
Butterfly Facts 28-36
28. Butterflies have four wings, not two, contrary to popular belief.
29. With a wing span of almost 25 centimeters, the female Queen Alexandra’s birdwing is the biggest butterfly in the world.
30. The Morgan’s Sphinx Moth from Madagascar possesses a 12 to 14-inch long proboscis (tube mouth) to get nectar from a 12-inch deep orchid found by Charles Darwin.
31. Numerous butterflies can use their feet to determine whether a leaf is suitable for laying eggs and feeding their caterpillars.
32. Entomophagy, the consumption of insects by humans, has been done for ages in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, North, Central, and South America.
Why? Because many insects are a wonderful source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and lipids.
33. The exoskeleton is the skeleton found on the exterior of the bodies of insects and butterflies.
This protects the insect and prevents dehydration by retaining water within their bodies.
34. The Brimstone butterfly (scientific name: Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifespan of any adult butterflies, between 9 and 10 months.
35. The maximum flying speed of a butterfly is 12 miles per hour. Some moths are capable of a 25 mph flight.
36. Did you know that butterflies can perceive colors we can’t? This is due to their ability to sense ultraviolet light, which is beyond human visual capabilities.
In addition, numerous butterfly wings contain these “unknown” UV hues in order to attract mates.