34 Facts About Butterflies

Here are some fun facts about butterflies.

1. Some Japanese believe butterflies to be human souls, fluttering about in purgatory for a few weeks before moving on to heaven. (Or the hot place.)

2. Tombs of ancient Egyptians have been discovered with butterflies painted on the walls.

3. Some butterflies look exactly like the leaves on a tree, which makes it harder to catch them. Like faeries, butterflies are not big fans of being swooped up in a net and crammed in a jar.

4. A butterfly’s antenna is used sense danger like a sudden change in air flow, or the smell of a predator. (Butterfly-Girl could be Spider-Man’s perfect match!)

5. In the tropics, a butterfly born during the wet season will be brighter than one born during the dry season, even though it’s the same species! That’d be like if everyone born during the summer had darker skin. How weird would that be?

6. Butterflies are a cold-blooded species. That’s why in the country you’ll often see them sitting in the middle of the road. Try not to hit them with your car! (The butterfly does not survive this process.)

7. Butterflies gather more information with their antenna than their eyes. This is because they’re nearsighted and can only see about one foot away.

8. Some butterflies can see in full color, just like humans. Many animals and insects can only see in black-and-white. Which means they like old movies like Casablanca, and A Streetcar Named Desire.

9. Many species of butterfly are deaf.

10. Some butterflies communicate by making these creepy clicking noises, which make them sound like space aliens.

11. Butterflies can only consume liquids, while caterpillars mostly chew on leaves.

12. While butterflies don’t carry as much pollen as bees, they carry it farther, making them one of the most important pollinator species.

13. Some butterflies have patterns on their wings that look like giant eyeballs. This is so they can appear threatening to predators, and hopefully not get eaten.

14. Butterflies migrate to warmer climates during the winter. This isn’t because they don’t like snow, it’s because they literally can’t fly in the cold weather. Imagine not being able to move your legs in the winter. Wouldn’t you be on the first bus out of Dodge?

15. Butterflies taste things with their feet. That would suck for humans!

16. As a butterfly ages, the scales on their wings fall off and they become transparent. Ghost-like, if you will. Perhaps that’s why the Japanese think butterflies are human souls.

17. Some butterflies (and species of moths) never eat anything their entire lives. They survive on the energy they stored up as caterpillars.

18. There are more than 20,000 different species of butterflies, and more than 700 unique species just in North America. Almost every year a new species is discovered, usually in a rainforest

19. The Queen Alexandra's birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world with a wingspan of just over a foot. That’s the size of common ruler, or a Subway sandwich. Unfortunately, this butterfly can only been seen in Papua New Guinea, an island near Australia.

20. In the Amazon rainforest, some species of butterflies will drink the tears from turtles, and other non-threatening wildlife. They do this because tears are salty, and sodium is hard to find in the rainforest.

21. Butterflies haven’t evolved much in the last 200 million years. They’re pretty happy the way things are.

22. Since butterflies don’t have bones, ancient species of butterflies didn’t leave any cool fossils hanging around.

23. A group of butterflies is called a “swarm,” a “flutter,” or a “kaleidoscope.”

24. Most species of butterfly only live about a month. But the Monarch butterfly lives for over nine months. This is because they eat their vegetables and brush their teeth before going to bed. (Probably.)

25. If you were to cut open a caterpillar’s cocoon (don’t do this) you would find some messy goop referred to by scientists as “insect soup.” In order to transform into a butterfly, the caterpillar must first digest itself using special enzymes, breaking down its body in order to be rebuilt.

26. Butterflies can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

27. The four stages of a butterfly’s life are: Egg, Larvae (caterpillar), Chrysalis (the cocoon), and Butterfly.

28. The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is called “metamorphosis.” This takes about 12 days.

29. Most butterflies don’t poop or pee. All their food/drink is perfectly converted into energy with no waste. Wouldn’t that be nice?

30. The Skipper butterfly can fly faster than a horse can run.

31. After a caterpillar hatches, it will usually eat its own egg.

32. Butterflies drink from mud puddles to absorb minerals and salt.

33. When a butterfly emerges from its cocoon, it won’t be able to fly for about four hours. First it must pump its body full of energy!

34. Butterflies are very picky about where they lay their eggs. They will fly around for hours looking for the perfect spot. Since a butterfly only lives about a month, that’s like your mom spending 150 days driving around searching for the right hospital to give birth.