Butterflies can come in different shapes and sizes, delighting us with beautiful colors and designs that can be striking and extravagant, showing us the beauty of the nature of each one, so today we will talk to you about the most common types of butterflies and how to differentiate them. lose!
The butterflies
It is an insect belonging to a class called lepidoptera where they have a large number of species (approximately 170.000) including moths; their beautiful colors that characterize them depend on the type of habitat, either due to factors such as heat and predators; Their wings are made up of scales, just like their body, creating the most beautiful and colorful patterns that help them survive by camouflaging themselves in the vast nature.
Their feeding is susceptible depending on the stage, at birth the caterpillars and larvae eat the leaves that they find around them and these are always found on the ground, in their growth and evolution the variety increases including seeds, fungi and fruits until they reach their adult stage where its morphology changes and the wings appear, now its food is ingested thanks to the proboscis (a spiral-shaped tube that helps to suck its food such as nectar).
night and day
Having reviewed the basics about butterflies, we still have to know their characteristics, although these depend on 2 very marked types: nocturnal and diurnal. To be able to differentiate them well, it is necessary to know a little about their anatomy such as color, antennae, activity schedules and even their wing structure and posture.
It should be noted that the most frequent ones you can find are the night ones; these have varied antennae from toothed to bipectinate, the one of the males is larger; their appearance tends to be quite thick, plump and furry, the wings are muted in neutral or cold colors that help their camouflage and are commonly found in a horizontal position which is known as resting wings.
These butterflies had to adapt to the low temperatures of the night and usually have a continuous wing vibration thanks to the increase in their body temperature, the good thing about this night schedule is that there are greater chances of survival since there are fewer predators awake compared to the normal schedule. day.
Diurnal butterflies, on the other hand, have very vibrant and extravagant colors, it is one of the simplest ways to recognize them since they have different designs on their wings that are very striking to the viewer, their body tends to be thinner as well as their antennas ending at the tip with a plumper shape.
Types of Butterflies
Below we will name and describe the most common and famous types of butterflies that may exist, in each of them we will name its greatest attraction, you will be able to recognize which butterfly is nocturnal or diurnal due to the characteristics explained above.
Although night butterflies may be simpler compared to daytime butterflies, the truth is that they stand out for the elegance and simplicity that can be found in their designs, making them delicate and giving the feeling of fragility.
owl butterfly
By name caligo eurilochus..
The diurnals, beautiful for their vibrant colors, have a slim and fine complexion; the wings more folded to the body in a vertical position, these to be able to fly extend their wings and thus collect a good amount of energy from the sun, their narrow antennae end in a small ball of dough which is very normal to see between both sexes.
Tiger butterfly
Name: Danaus chrysippus
This butterfly represents the color orange since this color is found on its wings and on its abdomen covering the entire surface, compared to its abdomen and wings, the antennae, the head and the thorax are completely covered in black with light spots white around them, in reality the colors of their wings can vary due to different factors such as the environment where they are, the temperature and the gender to which they belong.
Its home is located in Asia, Africa, Morocco, Australia and Egypt, this butterfly has been shown to belong to the group of diurnal butterflies, this butterfly has a great method of defense against its predatory enemies since it pretends to be dead apart from the fact that it emits a aroma in which the animals move away since the smell can be very unpleasant for the beings in their environment, it is the method with which it counts since in what it is about speed to fly it does not support much since it is very slow in that.
Crystal Wings Butterfly
Name: Greta Otto
A butterfly known for the crystalline aspect of its wings making it look fragile and delicate, this effect is found in the center of its wings since the surroundings can vary in color between some shades of orange and brown. The design of its wings is very useful because it allows it to camouflage itself or hide among the plants or any environment in which it finds itself in order to escape from its predators.
It feeds on the nectars of flowers. Its habitat is originally found in Central America in the most humid areas of the countries of that part of the American continent, but this butterfly is characterized by making enormous migrations if it considers it prudent due to the environment in which it is found, which is why it is also can be found towards the south of the continent in countries like Colombia or Venezuela.
This butterfly is selective when choosing a male to be able to procreate since it chooses the male depending on the level of power that it may have in a certain group of these. It can also be very dangerous for animals, specifically predators, since in its adulthood it develops a high level of toxicity.
Blue Mopho Butterfly
Name: Morpho peleides
This butterfly steals a lot of attention, it is seen as one of the most beautiful butterflies that exists in the world due to its beautiful and bright blue color on its wings, despite the fact that it is what most characterizes it, the truth is that the color it is only a perception because it is only the reflection of light when touching its scales. The color of the wings is much more powerful in males than in females.
Its diet varies throughout the course of its life since at first it can only feed on some plants, to later go on to drink nectar, fruits, sap and in the end they end up feeding on the bodily fluids of animals or other living beings, for how we see its feeding compared to some other butterflies is varied throughout its life.
This butterfly is native to tropical climates since they are very common in that type of area, so they can be admired in several countries in South and Central America and Mexico.
Monarch Butterfly
Name: Danaus plexippus
They are well known for being migratory butterflies that undertake a great journey to warmer places in the middle of the winter season, which is why they are widely seen in Mexico and California.
It is named as one of the most beautiful and striking butterfly species, being considered by a large majority as the monarch of all butterflies, its standard colors range between shades of orange, it has black and white, to differentiate males from the females will only be enough to see a huge black spot on the wings since only the males have it.
The monarch butterfly has an excellent method of defense when it comes to danger, since it contains a poison that can be lethal, this is very useful when its predators want to attack, it is very famous because It proceeds to make enormous migrations at harvest times, which is why it is also known as the harvest butterfly, they are very long and in huge groups, which is why it attracts a lot of attention for being a great show.
Atlas Butterfly
Name: Attacus Atlas
This butterfly is located in Asia, being the south of China the part where it is best known, it is considered in these parts as one of the largest moths that can exist, its head is in the shape of a snake so it also makes it a great distinctive of this butterfly.
It does not feed in its adult stage because it eats everything it can before reaching adulthood, so it must consume enough food to have enough reserves to survive the rest of its life, when it is a caterpillar it it only feeds on plants, it is important that it can obtain a good supply of food since its energy in the future will depend on that, the reason why it cannot feed in its adult stage is because it no longer has a mouth with which can eat food.
viceroy butterfly
Name: Limenitis archippus or Basilarchia archippus
This butterfly is sometimes very confused with the monarch butterfly since its colors are very similar to this one since it also has colors such as orange, black and white, unlike the monarch this one is completely harmless since it does not have no defense mechanism for its predators, it does not have any type of poison, aroma or something similar that helps it to get rid of the possible imminent dangers.
The viceroy butterfly lives in the eastern hemisphere, the activities of this butterfly are usually carried out both day and night, so it does not have a fixed schedule for feeding and flying, which is what it most commonly does.
Butterfly Bird Wings
Name: Ornithoptera alexandrae
This butterfly enjoys the title of being named the largest butterfly in the world due to the size of its enormous wings that can reach more than 31 centimeters. The colors can vary according to the gender of the butterfly since the females have a grayish brown color with some white spots on them, while the males oscillate other colors and shades, predominantly blue and green on their wings. Its habitat is in Papua New Guinea being butterflies common in those places, they are located in rainy or humid areas.
aurora butterfly
Name: Anthocharis cardamines
They have beautiful wings which is why it is known as one of the most striking butterflies in the world, its wings are white, but with various areas of different colors such as orange that can be seen in much of its wings, when it spreads them Even more, you can appreciate the true color that is found in different shades, making it a spectacle and a point of great attention to be able to admire, this color is very helpful for the butterfly because it helps it to hide from predators and can be camouflaged by the plants.
This butterfly is found in Europe and Asia, its habitat is made up of areas with great vegetation such as a large meadow, in fact, it becomes a beautiful attraction since it combines perfectly with its home, which helps it to stand out enormously.
Dark Goblin Butterfly
Name: Cupidus minimus
It is one of the smallest butterflies that exists, measuring between 20 and 30 centimeters maximum in length. Its wings have a gray color that can vary its hue since in some cases it can be darker and colder while in other cases it can be silver, it also has some parts of its wings with blue tones, its wings can also be white or pale gray with small hints of white in them.
This butterfly is located in England, Scotland and Ireland, these butterflies make up their habitat in places full of vegetation such as meadows, gardens and near roads and places near them, so for many it can become very common .
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