A beautiful Monarch butterfly getting a drink of water.
It’s butterfly season, so start watching for these incredible creatures to flitter around your yard.
Did You Know About Butterflies?
- A caterpillar’s first meal is its own eggshell.
- There are about 17,500 species of butterflies throughout the world.
- Butterfly wings are covered with overlapping rows of tiny scales.
- Butterflies are found everywhere in the world except on the continent of Antarctica.
- Most butterflies migrate relatively short distances, except for a few species like the Monarchs that migrate thousands of miles.
- From egg to adult, butterflies undergo a series of physical transformations known as metamorphosis.
- The exact number of butterfly species is not known.
- Most brightly colored butterfly species have toxic chemicals in their bodies for protection.
Threat Of Survival
The greatest threats to butterflies are a habitat change, and this loss is due to human residential, commercial and agricultural development. Climate change does not endanger butterflies because they migrate to better climates, but again, humans get in the way. As butterflies migrate, or attempt to migrate to better climates, their progress is blocked by the vast urban landcapes of major metro areas. Because of concrete cities and sprawling human development, many migrating butterfly species now face danger of extinction in the wild.
How You Can Help
Help protect Nature’s butterflies
Get active in local development, and encourage the construction of more Greenbelt communities as opposed to multi-living, tightly-packed housing developments with no trees or yards. Discourage spending more municipal funds on concreting bigger highways and taller bridges, and support more mass transit designs and walking/biking trails. Plant butterfly bushes in your gardens, and plant more trees!
The next time you see a beautiful butterfly, stop for a moment to watch it play in the wind.
