Butterflies – an Introduction

Butterflies – together with Moths – comprise the Order Lepidoptera (meaning ‘scaly-winged’). They are often seen flying around flowering plants in gardens as well as in forested areas. If one observes closely, one can find tiny butterflies among grasses, especially those bearing even tinier flowers. Moths are less often encountered than butterflies in urban areas, mostly when they are attracted inside our rooms by the electric lamps, dazzled by the glow. 

      Being insects, butterflies (and moths) have their body divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. They have 6 legs, all of which are developed for walking in families such as Pieridae and Lycaenidae. But in some families, such as Nymphalidae, the forelegs are reduced and only 4 legs are visible. The base of the wings is attached to the thorax. Each side of the thorax bears a forewing and hindwing.

      The lifecycle of butterflies is a very interesting and well documented one. The butterfly starts its life as an embryo inside the egg. When the egg finally hatches, the butterfly emerges into the open world in its less recognizable form – as the larva, commonly called caterpillar. The caterpillar is a voracious eater. It greedily munches on the leaves of its larval host plant (LHP). When it has put on enough weight, it spins a cocoon around itself. This stage is called pupa. Protected inside the cocoon, the caterpillar gradually metamorphoses. At the end of metamorphosis, the adult butterfly (imago) emerges from the cocoon. The head of the butterfly bears a sharp structure to pierce the cocoon and break out. The butterfly spends sometime hanging on a perch after emerging from the cocoon, so that its wings become sufficiently strong for flying.

Mud Puddling (c) Debashis Chowdhury

©Debashis Chowdhury

     While gathering minerals and nutrients, the butterflies generally do not discriminate between sources. A butterfly may suck nectar from a flower at one instant, and in the next instant we may find it sitting on a cat’s excreta and happily penetrating it with its proboscis. Butterflies, especially those of the hills, are often seen sitting on wet mud in large groups. They do this to extract valuable minerals and nitrogen from the mud. This habit is known as mud puddling or simply puddling. This habit is often seen in large Papillionids and Nymphalids. This habit of butterflies can be used to attract them, which will be discussed later in another blog.

Now, there is only one objective for the butterfly: to mate successfully and reproduce. If the butterfly is male, then it has to gather enough minerals and nutrients. This is needed so that its sperms are enriched with nutrients. The females mate with more than one male,  and each time it stores the sperms temporarily in a pouch.  Finally the sperms which are most nourished are used by the female to fertilize the ovum. This is done to ensure that genes of healthy individuals are passed on to the next generation.