BUTTERFLIES
By: Lisa Liang
Sapho Longwing Heliconius sapho
Wingspan: 3-3.5 inches Habitat: in tropical rainforests under the canopy Food requirements: -psiguria plant for the pollen and the host plant is the Passiflora pittieri Geographical location: Central America but most of them are found in Costa Rica Colour: -on the forewings there’s a patch of blue in the middle followed by white then black and the veins are black as well -on the hingwings there’s a patch of red on the bottom followed by black then white Mating habits: the males like to protect their property until they find a female to mate with and the females like to lay their eggs on the shoots of the Passion flower (10-40 eggs)
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Heliconius
Species
sapho
2 facts: • The caterpillar only breeds on the Passion Vine • These butterflies have special glands near their abdomen where they can give off a sweet scent
Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus
Wingspan: 3.1-4 inches Habitat: they live in many different places such as; the roadsides, yards, swamps, fields and parks Food requirements: they like to get nectar from various plants including; the Japanese honeysuckle, jewelweed, azalea, mimosa and sweet pepperbush. The host plant is the spicebush Geographical location: Southern Canada to Florida, mostly the eastern states in America especially in Oklahoma and central Texas Colour:-the forewings are black with white dots along the edge of the wing with a patch of blue near the tail -on the hingwings there are orange dots along the wing Mating habits: the females are always locating the host plants to see where she wants to lay her eggs. Before these butterflies mate they like to puddle to gain minerals and salts from the soil and this also helps with the sperm). The females lay her eggs on the ;leaf of the host plant. 2 facts:
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Papilionidae
Genus
Papilio
Species
troilus
• •
As a caterpillar, they resemble bird droppings which benefits them because the predators leave them alone As the caterpillar gets bigger they have have two dots on their heads which makes them look like a green snake and many predators especially birds stay away from them
Emerald Swallowtail Papilio palinurus
Wingspan: 3.1-3.9 inches Habitat: these butterflies live in the Asian forests Food requirements: plants in the citrus family especially the Rutaceae and also the euodia plants Geographical location: they are found in South East Asia particularly in Indonesia, Philippine, Malaysia and Sumatra Colour:-the hingwings are black and are covered with green scales. There’s also two green bands on the wings -the forewings are black with orange, white and blue spots along the wing Mating habits: during the breeding season, the are always found mud-puddling and when the females are ready to lay her eggs she lays them on the leaves of the Satin wood tree called the Chloroxylon swietenia
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Papilionidae
Genus
Papilio
Species
palinurus
2 facts: • When the light shines on the wings the emerald green sparkles and looks like jewels • What makes the green colour on the wings are blue and yellow scales located very close to each other
Question Mark Butterfly Polygonia interrogationis
Wingspan: 1.8-2.9inches Habitat: wooded areas, city parks and anywhere where there are many trees and lots of space Food requirements: they like to eat rotting fruit, tree sap, dung or carrion. But when these are unavailable they like to look for flowers like the sweet pepperbush, aster and the common milkweed Geographical location: they are found in Southern Canada and the eastern states in America. They are also found in Arizona and Mexico Colour:-the forewings are a red orange colour with black spots -in the wintertime the hingwings are fully orange but in the summer it is mostly black Mating habits: females are usually on the tree trunks or leaves waiting for the males. The females lay her eggs on the leaves of a plant (any plant but the host plant)
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Polygonia
Species
interrogationis
2 facts: • Since the females lay her eggs on any plant the caterpillar must find a host plant to live on • When they are adults, many stay in the northern United States to hibernate but there are some that will migrate south
Common Buckeye Junonia coenia
Wingspan: 1.5-2.7inches Habitat: sunny areas that have lots of open space near the ground like; fields, roadsides and pinelands Food requirements: for nectar they like the tickseed sunflower, aster, gumweed and chickory. The host plants are called the Ribgrass plantain, Green shrimp and Frog fruit Geographical location: they are found in the Southern United States and along the coasts of California and North Carolina. They are also found in Bermuda, Cuba and Southern Mexico Colour:-the forewings are brown with two eyespots and it has orange cell bars -the hingwings have two eyespots and the wings are brown in the summer and a reddish colour in the fall Mating habits: during the day the males are on the gound or on low plants trying to spot the females. The females like to lay her eggs on the leaf of the host plant
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Junonia
Species
coenia
2 facts: • The eyespots on the wings are used to scare predators away • The females have bigger eyespots than the males
Banded Orange Dryadula phaetusa
Wingspan: 3.2-3.5inches Habitat: lowland tropical fields and open areas Food requirements: they get the nectar from the flowers and they also like to eat bird droppings Geographical location: they are found in Brazil and throughout Central America to Central Mexico Colour: the forewings and hingwings are both orange with black stripes Mating habits: the males tend to get salts and minerals from the soil before mating and looking for the females. The eggs are laid on the stems and leaves of the host plant
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Dryadula
Species
phaetusa
2 facts: • For the males their wings are bright orange with thick black stripes while the wings for the females are a light orange with fuzzy black stripes • The bright orange colour on the wings acts as a warning sign for the birds to stay away from them
Orchard Swallowtail Papilio aegeus
Wingspan: 3.1-3.5inches Habitat: lowland rainforests, gardens and dry woodlands Food requirements: they get nectar from many different flowers they especially like the lantana. The host plants are citrus trees and orange trees Geographical location: they are generally found in eastern Australia and mainly found in Queensland Colour:-for the female, the forewings are black and the outer half is white. While the hingwings are black and have white patches as well as blue and red spots -for the males, the forewings are black with white spots near the tip of the wing. While the hingiwngs are black with a patch of white and a red spot Mating habits: the females lay her eggs on the host plant leaves
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Papilionidae
Genus
Papilio
Species
aegeus
2 facts: • When the caterpillar reveals a reddish orange tentacle behind its head, it releases a horrid scent to intimidate the predators • These butterflies are the largest butterflies seen in Brisbane, Austalia
Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus
Wingspan: 3.5-4 inches Habitat: in the spring and summer they like to be in the open fields and meadows. But in the winter they like the high altitudes in Central Mexico Food requirements: milkweed and nectar from flowers Geographical location: North America down to South America Colour: their wings are orange with thick black veins. Along the wing there’s a black border with white dots in it Mating habits: these butterflies mate in the summertime up to seven times. The females lays her eggs on milkweed plants 2 facts: • The orange on their wings are a sign for predators to stay away • The black veins are thicker on the females wings than the males wings
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Danaus
Species
plexippus
Common Jezebel Delias eucharis
Wingspan: 2-3inches Habitat: tropical rainforests, dry woodlands and forests Food requirements: they like small shrubs especially the Loranthus Geographical location: they are found in Southeast Asia but mainly in India and Thailand Colour: their wings have thick black veins with yellow in-between them on the bottom half of the wing and orange spots on a black border along the side of the wings. There is also white between the veins on the top half of the wing Mating habits: the females are usually flying high in the trees but once in awhile they will come down to mate. The eggs are laid (10-20 eggs) on the underside leaf of the host plant
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Pieridae
Genus
Delias
Species
eucharis
2 facts: • These butterflies are always flying high up to an altitude of 7000 feet in the hills • The females are usually flying around in the trees to find food plants while the males like to mud-puddle or get nectar from various flowers
Red Pierrot Talicada nyseus
Wingspan: 1-1.5inches Habitat: plains, evergreen forests and gardens Food requirements: the host plant is called the Kalanchoe. But for nectar they like plants from the acanthaeae family Geographical location: they are found in South Asia and South-East Asia Colour:-the forewings are white with black spots -the hingwings are white with black spots and along the wing there is a black border starting from the top and goes into an orange border on the bottom half. There are white spots in the border Mating habits: the female lays her eggs on the underside of the leaf of the host plant. She lays her eggs on at a time
Taxas
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Lycaenidae
Genus
Talicada
Species
nyseus
2 facts: • They are weak fliers so they like to fly really close to the ground • The caterpillars stay on the leaves of the host plant because they are thick. They only leave when it is time to create the pupa
Dichotomous Spider Key Has bands on the wings……………………………………………Papilio palinurus Wingspan is more than 3 inches
Doesn’t have bands on the wings…………………………………Papilio troilus
Pointed tails Wingspan is less than 3 inches……………………………………………………………………………………………….....Polygonia interrogationis
Has stripes………………………………………………………...…Dryadula phaetusa Winspan is more than 3 inches Doesn’t have stripes
The wings are a bright colour………………………...…..Danaus plexippus The wings aren’t a bright colour…………………………..Papilio aegeus
Rounded tails
Winspan is 3 inches and less
Has eyespots…………………………….………………….………Junonia coenia
Doesn’t have eyespots
Has a border along the wing
The veins are thick……...Delias eucharis The veins aren’t thick…...Talicada nyseus
Doesn’t have a border along the wing…………………………..Heliconius sapho
Dichotomous Key 1a. Pointed tails……………………………………………………………………………………………………Go to 2 b. Rounded tails………………………………………………………………………………………………….Go to 3 2a. Wingspan is more than 3 inches…………………………………………………………………………….Go to 4 b. Wingspan is less than 3 inches……………………………………………………………………………...Polygonia interrogationis 3a. Wingspan is more than 3 inches...…………………………………………………………………………..Go to 5 b. Wingspan is 3 inches and less..……………………………………………………………………………..Go to 6 4a. Has bands on the wings……………………………………………………………………………………...Papilio palinurus b. Doesn’t have bands on the wings…………………………………………………………………………...Papilio troilus 5a. Has stripes……………………….…………………………………………………………………………….Dryadula phaetusa b. Doesn’t have stripes……………………………………………………………………………....................Go to 7 6a. Has eyespots…………………….…………………………………………………………………………….Junonia coenia b. Doesn’t have eyespots……….………………………………………………………………………………Go to 8 7a. The wings are a bright colour….…………………………………………………………………………….Danaus plexippus b.The wings aren’t a bright colour….…………………………………………………………………………..Papilio aegeus 8a. Has a border along the wing.………………………………………………………………………………..Go to 9 b. Doesn’t have a border along the wing..…………………………………………………………………….Heliconius sapho 9a. The veins are thick…………………………………………………………………………...……………….Delias eucharis b. The veins aren’t thick………………………………………………………..……………………………….Talicada nyseus
Risks and benefits of human activity/intervention There are many species of butterflies that are endangered and about to go extinct doe to human activities. One of them being deforestation and destruction of tropical rainforests, by doing this it causes the butterflies to lose their habitat. Another big issue is using pesticides on plants. The use of pesticides are killing off the plants that butterflies need in order to survive. For example the monarch butterfly’s primary food source are the milkweed plants but due to the pesticides the amount of these plants are decreasing immensely and now the monarch butterflies are threatened. But on the other hand, humans do try to help the butterflies in many ways. There are many projects that help protect the butterflies around the world including; food plant establishment projects to help plant the plants that butterflies need and also conservation projects to protect them. There are also butterfly conservatories that humans build to let butterflies fly freely while still providing them the food that they need and a habitat.
Impact on climate change on the diversity With the climate changing butterflies have suffered a lot. Now the time period for flowers and plants to grows changing and it makes it hard for the butterflies to get their food because the plants aren’t growing when they are supposed to be. Also the climate change disturbs the butterfly’s migration pattern. In the wintertime it is getting colder than before and in this weather many butterflies are dying because they can’t handle this type of temperature. In the summertime it is getting hotter and drier making the butterflies having to find a new habitat while still getting their proper food source. Butterfly diversity is decreasing because of the weather changes and loss of habitats.
Bibliography Attributes of Dryadula phaetusa. Butterflies and Moths of North America. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Dryadul a-phaetusa Attributes of Junonia coenia. Butterflies and Moths of North America. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Junonia -coenia Attributes of Papilio troilus. Butterflies and Moths of North America. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio
troilus
Attributes of Polygonia interrogationis. Butterflies and Moths of North America. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polygoniainterrogationis Climate Change. http://www.nasw.org/users/mslong/2010/2010_01/Butt erflies.htm Common Buckeye. Butterfly Database. http://www.butterflydatabase.com/details_result.ph p?ID=57 Common Jezebel. Nature Feed. http://www.naturefeed.org/common-jezebel.html Heliconius. http://tolweb.org/Heliconius/72231 Monarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus. Nature Works. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/monarch.htm Monarch Butterfly. World Wildlife Fund. http://worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly. Climate Watch. http://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/insects/orc hard-swallowtail-butterfly Papilio crino (Common Banded Peacock). http://en.butterflycorner.net/Papilio-crino-Common -Banded-Peacock.525.0.html Parts of a Butterfly. Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory. http://www.ourbelizevacation.com/5/post/2012/01/sa pho-longwing-butterfliesarareunique-butterfly-f or-belize.html Red Pierrot Butterfly. http://www.naturemagnified.com/2010/04/red-pierrot -butterfly.html Sapho Longwing Butterflies. Ourbelizevacation. http://www.ourbelizevacation.com/5/post/2012/01/sa pho-longwing-butterflies-a-rare- uniquebutterfly-f or-belize.html