BUTTERFLIES CloseUp Charles Hope
BUTTERFLIES are insects. There are over 20,000 different species around the world. They are often called flying flowers because of their bright and pretty colours. During their short life they go through an amazing transformation. They begin as an egg, then go from a caterpillar into a chrysalis, before finishing as a butterfly.
A female butterfly will lay eggs only once in her life. Some species lay them one at a time, some in small groups and some in their hundreds. Butterflies lay eggs on plants that their caterpillar likes to eat.
Once the egg hatches, a caterpillar spends most of its time looking for food. Some caterpillars can eat 27,000 times their own weight in just a few weeks.
When a caterpillar is fully grown it looks for somewhere safe to pupate usually on the underside of a leaf or branch. The caterpillar attaches to the surface with a small silk pad. It then sheds its skin to reveal a chrysalis underneath.
Inside the chrysalis the cells of the caterpillar are broken down and rebuilt as a butterfly. This transformation takes about two weeks. For some species it can take several months.
Butterfly wings are covered in tiny scales, similar to those of a fish. When a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, its wings do not work. They have to wait for them to fill with blood before they can fly. Glasswinged Butterflies have see-through wings, as they are not completely covered in scales.
A butterfly has a long, hollow tongue known as a proboscis. When it isn t being used, it looks like a curly straw. They use their proboscis to feed on nectar, a liquid produced by flowers that is rich in sugar.
They can drink liquids from other foods, such as tree sap, dung and rotting fruit. Butterflies also get other nutrients by drinking from muddy puddles.
On top of a butterfly s head are the antennas. These help butterflies to smell, keep their balance while flying and also to find their way. Butterflies have compound eyes. These are made from thousands of individual parts, making them very good at sensing movement. This helps them avoid predators.
Butterflies are preyed on by many different predators, including mantises, wasps, spiders and birds. Some butterflies survive by blending into their surroundings. Others have markings that look like eyes, which can frighten predators away.
If a butterfly survives long enough it will try to mate. The female begins the process by releasing pheromones, which attract a male to her. Males can detect pheromones from over a kilometre away. Butterflies mate by touching their abdomens together. The male releases sperm, which fertilises the female s eggs.
First published in 2014 by PO Box 135 Fitzroy Vic 3065 Australia 61 + 3 + 9419 9406 dog@wdog.com.au www.wdog.com.au Copyright text Eion Pty Ltd 2014 Copyright layout and design Eion Pty Ltd 2014 All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, without permission of the copyright owner. All enquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above. Printed and bound by??? National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data: Title: Butterflies Closeup. ISBN: 9781742033044 (pbk.) Series: Closeup. Target Audience: For primary school age. Subjects: Butterflies--Juvenile literature. Dewey Number: 595.789 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 14 15 16 17 18 PHOTO CREDITS: All images courtesy of Shutterstock. Front cover Sari ONeal; p 1 wanchai; pp 2-3 Ti Santi; pp 4-5 Christian Vinces; p 4 (inset left) Patricia Chumillas; p 4 (inset right) Lukas Hejtman; p 5 (inset) richsouthwales; pp 6-7 Keith Tarrier; pp 8-9 Cathy Keifer; pp 10-11 Cathy Keifer; p 12 del.monaco; p 13 D. Kucharski K. Kucharska; p 14 Olga Bogatyrenko; p 15 ATOM WANG; p 16 fotoedu; p 17 Bule Sky Studio; p 18 Tyler Fox; p 19 Wilson Gonzales; p 20 Antonio Guillem; p 20 (inset) Steve Byland; p 21 twospeeds; p 21 (inset upper) Andrea Dal Max; p 21 (inset lower) Dr. Morley Read; pp 22-23 Jeremy Wee; p 24 Leo Shoot; Back cover Ivaschenko Roman. Wild Dog would like to thank??? for??? factual check of this book and??? for??? careful proofreading. Glossary: ABDOMEN: part of the body that contains the stomach. CELL: the smallest unit, or building block, of a living thing. CHRYSALIS: the pupal stage of a butterfly, enclosed in a firm cocoon. DUNG: animal droppings. FERTILISE: when an egg, plant or female animal combines with male reproductive material to create a new individual. HATCH: when an animal comes out of its egg. MATE: to breed; reproduce. NUTRIENTS: any substance needed for an animal to survive PHEROMONE: a chemical substance released by an animal that affects another animal of the same species. PREDATOR: an animal that hunts another animal for food. PUPATE: to become a pupa. SPECIES: a group of animals that live and breed together in the wild. SPERM: male reproductive fluid. FSC is a non-profit international organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world s forests.