| Butterflies belong to the insect order Lepidoptera, which is derived from a Greek word meaning
"scale wing." The kaleidoscope of colours and patterns found on a butterfly's wing are created by tiny
scales. Butterflies range in size from a minute 3mm to almost 300mm with about 24,000 species
worldwide. The mouth of an adult butterfly is a long tube, which is kept rolled up ready for use as a straw to obtain nectar as a food
source. Butterflies can see red, green, and yellow. The transformation of the strange looking caterpillar into an elegant butterfly is one of nature's
marvels. There are four stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Depending on the
species, the life cycle of one generation takes anything from about one month to a
year. Most adult butterflies only live for a week or two. |
