How Butterflies are really Amazing

Butterflies are beautiful and have some of the brightest colors found in nature. Dancing and swaying from flower to flower, their colorful wings are glistening and changing color in front of our eyes.

Here are some vague facts about our friends with rainbow wings that you may not yet know.

More than 17,500 species of butterflies have been recorded worldwide. Of this number, 750 can be found in the United States.
Butterflies don’t taste with taste buds, but rather sensors located under their feet
A group of butterflies is known as flutter.
Butterflies can see beyond the ultraviolet spectrum and their eyes cover a network of 6000 lenses.
Did you know that most old butterflies do not take out any waste at all? Many older butterflies use everything they eat as energy.
Butterflies can vary greatly in size. The largest butterfly has 12-inch wings, while the smallest ever recorded covers only half an inch.
Some butterflies may choose to lay their eggs directly. Some butterflies will lay their eggs only on one type of plant.
The first thing a caterpillar eats after hatching in the cocoon is usually the cocoon shell itself.
In some places, you may find that caterpillars are eating so much vegetation that you would almost hear them eating.
The time it takes for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly is usually between 10 and 15 days depending on the species.
Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures most of the time.
Some species of butterflies are very fast. The Skipper Butterfly can fly faster than a galloping horse.
Butterflies have long tube-shaped tongues that give them the ability to soak food up instead of sipping it.
Male butterflies participate in so-called "puddling". Many male butterflies are nourished by drinking water from muddy waters, allowing them to produce much-needed minerals. A group of butterflies swimming together is called a "puddle club".
Some species of butterflies drink blood from the open wounds of other animals.
Many scientists thought that butterflies were not deaf until they first identified the butterfly's ears in 2012.
The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly is one of the largest species of butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from 4 to 7 inches.
The adult butterfly lives only 3 to 4 weeks on average.
Many species of butterflies are polymorphic and can interact with their environment.
Antarctica is the only continent in the world without them. Not only butterflies but no insects at all in Antarctica because it is so cold!
They weigh about two roses.
Although it would be funny to see one try, it's quite obvious that an elephant would not be able to stand on a plant without crushing it to death. Flowers are brittle and precious, as are the butterflies that feed on them. They have to be delicate in their approach to just take what is needed and move on, leaving no trace.
They get their color from two different sources.
Their wings are exposed.
The butterfly's wings are covered with thousands of tiny scales that are divided into two to three layers. The more layers of the wings let the light pass, the more light is reflected. The combination of all these is reflected in the resulting bright colors that you see in a variety of styles.

The next time you see worms eating leaves, or you see them floating in your yard, remember that these tiny flying flowers are more than just insects. Now you can thank them for what they are, the little wonders of nature.

How Butterflies are really Amazing

Butterflies are beautiful and have some of the brightest colors found in nature. Dancing and swaying from flower to flower, their colorful wings are glistening and changing color in front of our eyes.

Here are some vague facts about our friends with rainbow wings that you may not yet know.

More than 17,500 species of butterflies have been recorded worldwide. Of this number, 750 can be found in the United States.

Butterflies don’t taste with taste buds, but rather sensors located under their feet

A group of butterflies is known as flutter.

Butterflies can see beyond the ultraviolet spectrum and their eyes cover a network of 6000 lenses.

Did you know that most old butterflies do not take out any waste at all? Many older butterflies use everything they eat as energy.

Butterflies can vary greatly in size. The largest butterfly has 12-inch wings, while the smallest ever recorded covers only half an inch.

Some butterflies may choose to lay their eggs directly. Some butterflies will lay their eggs only on one type of plant.

The first thing a caterpillar eats after hatching in the cocoon is usually the cocoon shell itself.

In some places, you may find that caterpillars are eating so much vegetation that you would almost hear them eating.

The time it takes for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly is usually between 10 and 15 days depending on the species.

Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures most of the time.

Some species of butterflies are very fast. The Skipper Butterfly can fly faster than a galloping horse.

Butterflies have long tube-shaped tongues that give them the ability to soak food up instead of sipping it.

Male butterflies participate in so-called "puddling". Many male butterflies are nourished by drinking water from muddy waters, allowing them to produce much-needed minerals. A group of butterflies swimming together is called a "puddle club".

Some species of butterflies drink blood from the open wounds of other animals.

Many scientists thought that butterflies were not deaf until they first identified the butterfly's ears in 2012.

The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly is one of the largest species of butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from 4 to 7 inches.

The adult butterfly lives only 3 to 4 weeks on average.

Many species of butterflies are polymorphic and can interact with their environment.

Antarctica is the only continent in the world without them. Not only butterflies but no insects at all in Antarctica because it is so cold!

They weigh about two roses.

They get their color from two different sources.

Their wings are exposed.

The butterfly's wings are covered with thousands of tiny scales that are divided into two to three layers. The more layers of the wings let the light pass, the more light is reflected. The combination of all these is reflected in the resulting bright colors that you see in a variety of styles.

The next time you see worms eating leaves, or you see them floating in your yard, remember that these tiny flying flowers are more than just insects. Now you can thank them for what they are, the little wonders of nature.