How many kinds of butterflies/moths are there?
There are 165,000 known species of butterflies and moths in the Order Lepidoptera.
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How many kinds of butterflies are in Illinois?
There are 150 kinds of butterflies in Illinois.
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Do Butterflies eat anything besides flower nectar?
Some butterflies and moths rarely visit flowers. Instead they may feed on mud, dirt, sap, dew, animal droppings, rotting fruit and carrion. Some enjoy these delicacies in addition to their standard nectar diet. In the Haven, we can often see Question Marks, Red Admirals, and Hackberry butterflies visiting the fruit tray.
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What eats butterflies and moths?
They are eaten by birds, bats, lizards, snakes, toads, ants, parasitic flies, moths, monkeys and even humans in some parts of Mexico, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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What does it look like inside the chrysalis when the caterpillar is changing into a butterfly?
Unlike a moth's cocoon the chrysalis is not just a protective covering. The outside is the skin. If we were to open it up inside we would find the developing internal organs of the butterfly.
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Where do butterflies go in the winter?
Some butterflies overwinter as eggs or in their pupal stage. (Other butterflies hibernate as caterpillars or as adults under logs or wrapped up in leaves.) An example of this is a Swallowtail. Some butterflies, like monarchs, migrate to warmer areas.
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How many eggs do butterflies lay?
Up to 1,000 eggs at a time.
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Can butterflies hear me?
Butterflies do have ears, but most likely they sense when humans are near by a change in light. They might not know that you are a person, but they see a big object in their range of vision and dart to get out of the way.
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Where do they go when it rains?
Butterflies, chrysalides and caterpillars take shelter under leaves and rocks. Butterflies cannot fly well with wet wings.
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Can you tell a male from a female butterfly?
Butterflies can tell each other apart by using pheremones (hormones that emit a chemical odor). Sometimes males are different colors than females.
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What does butterfly scat look like?
Caterpillar scatt called "frass", looks like small balls. Butterfly waste is liquid and looks like very small amounts of bird droppings.
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When the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, why do I see blood?
The red liquid that drops from the opening chrysalis is not blood but a substance called miconium. Miconium is the waste product that the butterfly has been storing as a pupa.
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How long does a butterfly live?
A typical butterfly can live between one week and one month depending on the species and time of year. One exception to this is that migrating Monarchs can live 6 months or more. Another is that, overwintering butterflies like the Mourning Cloak can live 7 to 8 months.
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What makes moths and butterflies different from dragonflies and damselflies?
One difference is that dragonflies and damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis - they skip the larval stage.
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Why don't I see these butterflies near my house?
Butterflies, like all animals, can only be found where there is enough food and shelter for them to live and reproduce successfully. Do you have food plants for the adults and their larvae? An example of a typical food plant would be milkweed (also known as butterfly weed). The flowers provide nectar and pollen that adults need for food and the leaves provide food for the larvae. Another important element to consider is if you (or even neighbors) use lawn services that spray chemicals to control weeds. This can kill butterflies or discourage them from staying in your yard.
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Does it hurt the butterfly when people handle them (their wings)?
Every time a person touches a butterfly's wing, some of the tiny scales that make up the colorful patterns are removed. This is not inherently harmful. However, they cannot tolerate excessive handling and so we must discourage museum visitors from touching the butterflies. Touching the wings may cause damage to important veins that help with flight. The smaller the butterfly, the more delicate it is.
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