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:

Difference between a butterfly and a moth — Although the separation of Lepidopterans into "butterfly" and "moth" categories is a well-known distinction, the difference between a butterfly and a ...  > read more

Butterflies, skippers and moths — The order Lepidoptera is the second largest order in the class Insecta and includes the butterflies, skippers, and moths. This order has more than ...  > read more

Larva — A larva is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). The larva can look ...  > read more

Monarch butterfly — The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a well-known North American butterfly. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern. ...  > read more

Related Stories

Amino Acids In Nectar Enhance Butterfly Fecundity: A Long Awaited Link (February 23, 2005) — The fascinating interactions between flowers and their pollinators have resulted in a spectacular diversity of plants. In order to entice pollinators such as bees, flies or butterflies to visit and ...  > read more

Butterflies Lose Body Fat During Metamorphosis (March 21, 2006) — A group of scientists from Oregon have discovered that butterflies experience a great loss in body fat during metamorphosis. The details of their findings appear in the March issue of the Journal of ...  > read more

Butterflies Use Polarized Light To Attract Mates (May 1, 2003) — Up to 20 layers of transparent scales on butterfly wings scatter white light to produce brilliant blue structural color. Alison Sweeney, Duke University, and collaborators at the Smithsonian Tropical ...  > read more

Can Moths Or Butterflies Remember What They Learned As Caterpillars? (March 8, 2008) — Butterflies and moths are well known for their striking metamorphosis from crawling caterpillars to winged adults. This radical change makes it seem unlikely that learned associations or memories ...  > read more

To Understand Butterfly Wing Colors, Biologists Develop First Transgenic Butterflies (March 8, 2004) — University at Buffalo biologists who study butterfly wing patterns have inserted into an African butterfly a marker gene from a jellyfish species, resulting in the first transgenic butterflies that ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Saving Butterflies