Student Projects/Butterfly

= Butterfly =

Introduction
Mother Nature has given us many beautiful creations and out of that butterflies are undoubtedly the masterpiece. Butterflies are also called as winged flowers of the animal world have splendid splash of colours on their body and have patterns that are matchless.

Classification
Kingdom : Animalia Phylum : Arthropoda

Class : Insecta

Order : Lepidoptera

Life Cycle
Life cycle of Butterfly is very unique. From egg to Butterfly it has four different and complex stages in its life. The four stages are

1.  Egg

2.  Caterpillar (larvae)

3.  Pupa

4.  Adult butterfly or Imago

The life cycle has series of changes that are so drastic that they don’t remain same in all of their stages. Butterflies in their first stage look completely different from the final stage.

Adult butterflies lay eggs on their respective food plants. Then their larvae which is known by the name caterpillar feed on these plants. They eat almost twice their own body mass each day. The caterpillars grow very fast. They shed their skins four to five times which is known as moulting. When they become fully developed, they enter the next stage called the pupa stage. It’s a stage of complete and long rest. After this a beautiful butterfly comes.

Why pupa stage is very important in the life cycle?
It’s the third phase and the most important one as well. After this phase the pupa gets transformed into a beautiful and colourful butterfly.

A butterfly pupa is known as Chrysalis which is found on the underside of the leaf or in other concealed places. It is during this stage that the pupa is more prone to predator attack since it cannot move. To overcome this the pupae camouflage themselves to their surroundings to escape from the predators and to prevent detection by their enemies.

How butterflies defend themselves from their surroundings?
They exhibit variety of tricks to save themselves from their predators. Some of those are

1.  Chemical defence

2.  Camouflage

3.  Deimatic behavior – waving their front ends marked with eyespots as if they were snakes

4.  Mimicking

5.  Hibernation

6.  Physical defense mechanism

7.  Migration

Ecological enemies
Deforestation and the increase in the human population has led to the extinction and steep decrease in the number of butterflies found now. Even the existing butterflies have troubles coping up with these adverse environmental changes and are prone to loose their adaptability this way.

Habitat destruction and global warming are the serious problems faced these day which contribute significantly.

Butterfly watching
It’s an hobby concerned with the observation and study of butterflies. It is called as butterflying.

Butterfly gardening
It is to create environment and suitable place for the butterfly to lay eggs.