Science Reference

Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, and belongs to one of the superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers) or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies).

They are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form.

The diverse patterns formed by their brightly coloured wings and their erratic-yet-graceful flight have made butterfly watching a popular hobby.

Butterflies feed primarily on nectar from flowers.

Some also derive nourishment from pollen, tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, and dissolved minerals in wet sand or dirt.

Butterflies play an important ecological role as pollinators.

For more information about the topic Butterfly, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Butterfly at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Search ScienceDaily

Number of stories in archives: 137,188

Find with keyword(s):
 
Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.

Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing services:

|

  more breaking science news

Social Networks


Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +1:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Breaking News

... from NewsDaily.com

In Other News ...

Free Subscriptions

... from ScienceDaily

Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

Feedback

... we want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

Post this page to your favorite social bookmarking site:
Include this item in your blog or web site:
Email this page's link to a friend or colleague: