Is a butterfly an insect?

Butterflies, also known as butterflies, etc., are generally colorful, have many stripes, are rich in color, and have various spots on their wings and body. there are about 14000 species in the world, most of which are distributed in the Americas. There are 1200 species in China, especially in the Amazon River Basin. Let's take a look at whether butterflies are insects.

Are butterflies insects?

Butterflies are insects. Butterfly is the general name of Lepidoptera suborder Lepidoptera of Arthropoda, which is classified as Lepidoptera. Tens of thousands of species in the world fall into this category. Since the Cretaceous, it has evolved and pollinated with flowering plants as food. It is the last kind of organism in the evolution of insects. The main difference from moths is that the head of butterflies has a pair of rod-shaped or hammer-shaped antennae, and the antennae of moths are diverse.

What kind of food do butterflies eat?

1. Larvae: the feeding objects of butterfly larvae vary from species to species. most larvae are addicted to leaves, some species, such as pollen butterflies and orange pink butterflies, and some species eat young pods or young fruits. For example, pod gray butterfly eats tender pods, gardenia gray butterfly eats young gardenia fruit. In addition, in the gray butterfly family, a few species of larvae are carnivorous, for example, scale gray butterfly is addicted to coffee scale, bamboo aphid gray butterfly feeds exclusively on bamboo aphid, this carnivorous species is a rare beneficial insect in butterflies.

2. Adults: most butterflies suck nectar. For those that suck nectar, they not only suck nectar, but also like to suck the nectar of certain plants, such as blue Phoenix butterflies sucking nectar of Liliaceae plants, cabbage pink butterflies suck nectar of plants of Cross Flower family, leopard butterflies suck nectar of Compositae plants, and so on. Some butterflies that do not suck nectar have bamboo eye butterflies that suck fig juice. Lilac butterflies feed on the sour pulp of diseased oak and poplar, and some butterflies suck the flesh of grapes, which are common in grape fields.

The growth process of butterflies

1. Eggs: butterfly eggs are generally round or oval, with a waxy shell on the surface to prevent water evaporation, and a small hole at one end, which is the pathway for sperm to enter. The size of eggs varies greatly among different species of butterflies. Butterflies usually lay their eggs on the leaves of plants that the larvae like to eat, preparing food for the larvae.

2. Larvae: after hatching, the larvae mainly eat and eat a large number of plant leaves. The larvae are of various shapes, mostly fleshy worms and a few caterpillars. Butterflies harm agriculture mainly in the larval stage, with the growth of larvae, usually after several molting.

3. Pupa: the larva will become pupa when it matures. The larva will fix itself with a few strands of silk in the hidden place on the back of the plant leaf, and then pupate directly without cocoon.

4. Adults: after the pupa matures, it breaks its shell and comes out of the pupa, but it takes a certain amount of time to dry and harden its wings. At this time, the butterfly can not avoid its natural enemies, which is a dangerous period. After the wings are spread, the butterfly can fly, and the butterfly's front and rear wings do not flap synchronously, so the butterfly flies with great fluctuation and graceful posture. The so-called "dancing" comes from the butterfly's flight. Butterfly adults usually die before winter comes after mating and laying eggs, but some species migrate to the south to spend the winter.