Butterfly

For other uses, see Butterfly (disambiguation) and Butterflies (disambiguation).

Butterflies
Temporal range: Cretaceous–present, 101.4–0 Ma
Papilio machaon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Rhopalocera
Subgroups

Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran suborder Rhopalocera, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the superfamilies Hedyloidea (moth-butterflies in the Americas) and Papilionoidea (all others). The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though they likely originated in the Late Cretaceous, about 101 million years ago.[1]

Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous insects they undergo complete metamorphosis.[2] Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, expands its wings to dry, and flies off.

Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle.[3]

Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry, and aposematism to evade their predators.[4] Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Many butterflies are attacked by parasites or parasitoids, including wasps, protozoans, flies, and other invertebrates, or are preyed upon by other organisms. Some species are pests because in their larval stages they can damage domestic crops or trees; other species are agents of pollination of some plants. Larvae of a few butterflies (e.g., harvesters) eat harmful insects, and a few are predators of ants, while others live as mutualists in association with ants. Culturally, butterflies are a popular motif in the visual and literary arts. The Smithsonian Institution says "butterflies are certainly one of the most appealing creatures in nature".[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Butterfly Life Cycle". ansp.org. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Butterfly Life Cycle". For Educators. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  4. ^ McClure, Melanie; Clerc, Corentin; Desbois, Charlotte; Meichanetzoglou, Aimilia; Cau, Marion; Bastin-Héline, Lucie; Bacigalupo, Javier; Houssin, Céline; Pinna, Charline; Nay, Bastien; Llaurens, Violaine (24 April 2019). "Why has transparency evolved in aposematic butterflies? Insights from the largest radiation of aposematic butterflies, the Ithomiini". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1901). doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.2769. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 6501930. PMID 30991931.
  5. ^ "Benefits of Insects to Humans". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.