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Butterflies are beatiful.
Butterflies have always impressed with their design and color of their wings. However, most people have very little information about these beautiful insects.
Experts established that there are over 17,500 known species of butterfly in the world, out of which 750 you can find in the United States. Butterflies, like every insect, have six legs and three body parts consisting of the abdomen, the thorax, and the head.
They have a pair of antennae ending in two compound eyes. Plus, their wings are attached to their abdomen. The most commonly seen species of butterfly in the United States is the Cabbage White.
This insect usually has a black marking on the top of its wings, which have a spread of around two inches. Females have two spots on each wing, whereas males have only one. They can be seen practically everywhere including cities, parks, roadsides, and gardens.
Another important species of butterflies are the Monarchs. They are known for their long annual migration. Unfortunately, their 2,500-mile journey is always full of many obstacles, such as climate change, human ignorance, and pollution.
Monarchs are more than popular as they are one of the symbols of North America. Their numbers have critically dropped off to more than 95% over the last few years, so many scientists are doing their best to preserve and protect this species.
Nevertheless, there are other migratory butterflies as well, including the Mourning Cloak, Fiery Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Question Mark, Sachem, Skipper, Cloudless Sulphur, Red Admiral, American Lady and The Painted Lady. Still, the Monarchs are the only species that have such a long distance migration.
Regarding their color, the Common Buckeye Butterfly is certainly one of the most beautiful ones thanks to their thick upper-wing bars and colorful eyespots which play the role of confusing predatory birds. These insects are widely spread throughout Central and North America, but not in the far north of Canada or the Pacific Northwest because it is probably too cold.
The life span of adult butterflies is only three to four weeks. Nevertheless, the complete life cycle from larvae to adulthood ranges between two to eight months. Caterpillars usually feed on leaves and flowers until they turn into a pupa and eventually emerging into a beautiful adult specimen.
Image Source:Wikipedia
