Tips For Finding Butterflies

A butterfly is a beautiful flying insect that comes from the macrolepidoptera family. It has large colourful scaly wings and tiny sensory hairs that cover its body, including the feet which they use to taste and smell. Believe it or not, the wings on a butterfly are transparent, and the wings are covered in scales; these scales give butterfly wings their colour.

Butterflies are often polymorphic, which means they can camouflage themselves using mimicry to protect themselves; they pretend that they are foul and nasty tasting or even poisonous to defend themselves from predators. Butterflies have antennae which they use to sense the air for wind and scents and are covered with sensors known as sensillae.

A butterfly is the result of a four-stage process that starts with an egg;

• The egg (also known as ovum) turns into a caterpillar
• The caterpillar (lava) turns into a chrysalis
• The chrysalis (pupa) finally becomes a butterfly (imago)

A female butterfly lays her eggs, usually on the leaves or the stems of plants that will support a growing caterpillar. The caterpillar stays inside the egg until it grows big enough to eat its way out. By the time it is ready to hatch, It can grow as much as 100 times bigger than when it was laid.

Butterfly eggs are small; they can be oval, round and even cylindrical.
The texture of an egg can be smooth, bumpy and even wrinkly depending on the species. Eggs usually hatch within a few weeks of being laid, but some species of butterfly eggs only hatch during warmer temperatures.

When the caterpillar is ready to leave the egg, it will start to eat its way out, feeding on the surrounding plants. A caterpillar will shed its skin 4-5 times during this stage; the skin will become so tight it splits open, revealing a new one underneath.

When the caterpillar is fully grown, it forms itself into a chrysalis (pupa). Depending on the butterfly species, the chrysalis stage can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. A rigid case forms around the chrysalis during this time, protecting it from predators and extreme weather conditions.

When the butterfly is ready to emerge from the chrysalis, it splits open. The butterfly cannot fly straight away as its wings are wet, soft and wrinkled against its body. The butterfly waits for its wings to dry, and it pumps a liquid called hemolymph into them. Once this process is complete, it will search for food and a mate, and the cycle starts all over again.

Pollination is a process by which flowering plants can reproduce. For a plant to be able to produce offspring, it must be fertilised with pollen; the process allows it to develop seeds that will grow into new plants. Without pollination, plants wouldn’t be able to reproduce, which is why bees and butterflies are so important to our ecosystem. Some flowers can self pollinate, but most are cross-pollinators which means they need pollen from other flowers. Flowers produce nectar, a sweet liquid that   butterflies and bees like to eat, while they are feeding on the nectar the pollen attaches to them, and they transfer it to the next flower.

Gardens can provide a fantastic natural habitat for butterflies, and don’t worry, even if you have a small garden, there are still things you can do to help. Butterflies feed on nectar, so the best way to encourage more butterflies to visit your garden is by planting lots of colourful flowers. 

As well as planting flowers for butterflies and their caterpillars to feed on, you can also provide them with a sweet snack to give them an energy boost when they get tired. This is especially important in autumn when most plants have finished flowering.

Some butterflies migrate during the winter months, so the best time to find butterflies is during the warmer months during the spring and summer. Butterflies love flowers and fruit; If you go to places with many wildflowers or fruit trees, you are guaranteed to find butterflies.

Butterflies are not very active during the winter, making them difficult to find, but they come alive in warmer climates, flitting from flower to flower. Butterflies love nectar; they have receptors on their feet, which they use to smell and taste with. Once they find some nectar, they use their tongue for drinking.

There are many butterflies in danger in the UK, and one of them is the Argynnis Adippe. Sadly this butterfly has disappeared from most of England and Wales and is now confined to just four locations. You will see them flying over the tops of bracken or in low vegetation in woodland clearings in Morecambe Bay Limestones, Dartmoor and Exmoor.