Did you know…
~Butterflies go through four stages of development: ova (egg), larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), adult (butterfly).
~Butterflies make a CHRYSALIS, moths make a cocoon.
~The beautiful Mourning Cloak butterfly sometimes plays dead.
~Question Mark and Comma Butterflies are so named because of the markings on the undersides of their wings.
~Butterflies overwinter in all stages of development.
~In addition to nectar from flowers, some butterflies eat fruit, tree sap, and even dung.
~Because they are cold blooded, butterflies need to warm their flight muscles before they can fly.
~It takes approximately four weeks for the butterfly to complete its lifecycle.
~Mourning Cloak, Question Mark, and Comma butterflies overwinter as adults and are sometimes seen in the winter on warm, sunny days.
~There are many predators that find butterfly larva tasty, including spiders, wasps, some types of flies, and beetles.
~Summer Monarchs are genetically different than the late summer Monarchs which migrate to Mexico.
~Migratory Monarchs live 8-9 months, while summer Monarchs live 2-4 weeks.
~Not all Monarch migrate. Some are year round residents in the southern states along the Gulf of Mexico.
~Western Monarchs migrate to the Pacific Grove area and overwinter in eucalyptus trees.
~Eastern Monarchs overwinter in the Michoacan peninsula of Mexico in Oyamel fir trees.
