If the temperature drops too low, they may seek a light colored rock, sand or a leaf in a sunny spot and bask. Butterflies bask with their wings spread out in order to soak up the sun's heat. When butterflies get too hot, they may head for shade or for cool areas like puddles. Some species will gather at shallow mud puddles or wet sandy areas, sipping the mineral-rich water.
Generally more males than females puddle and it is believed that the salts and nutrients in the puddles are needed for successful mating. Patrolling and perching. There are two methods that a male butterfly might use in order to search for a female mate. It might patrol or fly over a particular area where other butterflies are active. If it sees a possible mate, it will fly in for a closer look. Or, instead, it might perch on a tall plant in an area where females may be present.
If it spots a likely mate, it will swoop in to investigate. In either case, if he finds a suitable female he will begin the mating ritual.
If he finds another male instead, a fierce fight may ensue. A male butterfly has several methods of determining whether he has found a female of his own species. One way is by sight. The male will look for butterflies with wings that are the correct color and pattern.
When a male sights a potential mate it will fly closer, often behind or above the female. Once closer, the male will release special chemicals, called pheromones , while it flutters its wings a bit more than usual.
The male may also do a special "courtship dance" to attract the female. These "dances" consist of flight patterns that are peculiar to that species of butterfly. If the female is interested she may join the male's dance. They will then mate by joining together end to end at their abdomens. During the mating process, when their bodies are joined, the male passes sperm to the female. As the eggs later pass through the female's egg-laying tube, they are fertilized by the sperm.
The male butterfly often dies soon after mating. After mating with a male, the female butterfly must go in search of a plant on which to lay her eggs. Because the caterpillars that will hatch from her eggs will be very particular about what they eat, she must be very particular in choosing a plant. She can recognize the right plant species by its leaf color and shape.
Just to be sure, however, she may beat on the leaf with her feet. This scratches the leaf surface, causing a characteristic plant odor to be released.
Once she is sure she has found the correct plant species, she will go about the business of egg-laying. While laying her eggs, they are fertilized with the sperm that has been stored in her body since mating.
Some butterflies lay a single egg, while others may lay their eggs in clusters. A sticky substance produced by the female enables the eggs to stick where ever she lays them, either on the underside of a leaf or on a stem. Butterflies are cold-blooded and cannot withstand winter conditions in an active state.
Butterflies may survive cold weather by hibernating in protected locations. They may use the peeling bark of trees, perennial plants, logs or old fences as their overwintering sites. They may hibernate at any stage egg, larval, pupal or adult but generally each species is dormant in only one stage.
Another way that butterflies can escape cold weather is by migrating to a warmer region. Some migrating butterflies, such as the painted lady and cabbage butterfly, fly only a few hundred miles, while others, such as the monarch, travel thousands of miles.
Monarchs are considered the long-distance champions of butterfly migration, traveling as many as miles round trip. They begin their flight before the autumn cold sets in, heading south from Canada and the northern United States. Monarchs migrate to the warmer climates of California, Florida and Mexico, making the trip in two months or less and feeding on nectar along the way.
Once arriving at their southern destination, they will spend the winter resting for the return flight. Few of the original adults actually complete the trip home.
Instead, the females mate and lay eggs along the way and their offspring finish this incredible journey. Butterflies and caterpillars are preyed upon by birds, spiders, lizards and various other animals.
Largely defenseless against many of these hungry predators, Lepidoptera have developed a number of passive ways to protect themselves. One way is by making themselves inconspicuous through the use of camouflage. Caterpillars may be protectively colored or have structures that allow them to seemingly disappear into the background. For example, many caterpillars are green, making them difficult to detect because they blend in with the host leaf.
Some larvae, particularly those in the Tropics, bear a resemblance to bird droppings, a disguise that makes them unappealing to would-be predators.
The coloration and pattern of a butterfly's wings may enable it to blend into its surrounding. Some may look like dead leaves on a twig when they are at rest with their wings closed. The under wing markings of the comma and question mark butterflies help them to go unnoticed when hibernating in leaf litter. Back to index Butterfly Words Glossary. Abdomen noun - the last segment of an insect's body, located at the tail end.
The heart, reproductive organs and much of the digestive system are located in an insect's abdomen. Adult noun - the fully grown or fully developed stage of an animal. A butterfly or moth is the adult stage of a caterpillar. Antenna noun, plural: antennae - one of a pair of slender structures located on the head of some insects. Butterfly antennae are used for balance and for detecting smells and wind speed. Basking verb - the activity where a butterfly rests with outstretched wings in the sunshine in order to absorb as much heat as possible.
Camouflage noun - a protective coloring that enables an animal to blend in with its environment, thus hiding it from its predators. Caterpillar noun - the worm-like second stage in a butterfly life cycle, also called a larva. Chitin noun, pronounced: KI-tin - a tough, colorless material that makes up the insect exoskeleton.
Chrysalis noun - pronounced: KRIS-uh-liss - the third stage of the butterfly life cycle, also called a pupa. Cocoon noun - the silken protective covering made by a moth larva before it becomes a pupa. Cold blooded adjective - having a body temperature that is about the same as the surrounding air because of the animal's inability to regulate its own internal body heat.
On the other hand, warm blooded animals are able to regulate their own internal body heat and their bodies stay at a fairly constant temperature, regardless of their surroundings. They will spend their summers all around the United States, and migrate to Mexico and Southern California in the winter. New Mexico experiences chilly, dry winters and hot summers.
The monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus qualify as such. Santa Fe experiences chilly, dry winters and hot summers. There are two major deserts in mexico, the Chihuahuan and the Sonoran and both have a subtropical hot climate - very hot summers and generally mild winters. It is too cold for them in Minnesota during the winter.
Mississippi has the opposite of a dry climate. Mississippi is considered a humid, subtropical state with very hot and humid summers, mild winters and a lot of rainfall that comes in from the Gulf of Mexico.
The monarch butterfly migrates to Mexico for the winter. Hot and dry. Mexico does not have a "national butterfly" or a "national insect", for that matter. However, the Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus is the most known insect of its kind in Mexico, as it travels thousands of miles from Canada and the United States to spend the winter in forests along central and western Mexico. Log in. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides. Birds 20 cards. Why do birds have very rapid heartbeats.
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