Butterflies Are The Most Beautiful Insects in the World

Butterfly is the most picturesque and best known of all flying insects. This multi-coloured magical insects are found everywhere in the world except for the continent of Antarctica, but the utmost number live in the tropical area. 'Butterfly'- this word comes from the old English word 'Buttorfleoge'. The striking and flimsy wings are really translucent. The sparkling scales that partly cover each other give the butterfly's wings the color that we see. Several butterflies and moths are bright and gray, brown or monotonously spotted fragments. Some butterflies have wings with the upper exterior covered with vivid scales and the under facade covered with dull brown ones. When of these butter flies is flying it seems like a bright flower. When it is inactive, it closes its wings and looks like a dead leaf. This helps defend it from foes.

Various surveys declare that there could be 12 to 15 thousand varieties of butterflies and 150 to 250 thousand species of moths. The most important differences between butterflies and moths are: The butterflies are day flier but scarcely ever at night but the most moths are flying at night. All butterflies have antennae that finish in knobs while most moths are lack of the clubs at their antennae. Butterflies bodies are by and large willowy and moth's bodies are by and large heavy.

The variety in size from little moths with a wing-extend of less than 1/8 inch up to the 'Owlet Moth' of South America and the 'Hercules' Moth of Australia with wing spreads of nearly one 12 inches! You may see a butterfly fluttering around in your home; you may have been butterflies stretch out in the sun with their colorful wings in order to get going.

Photo Source: Flickr under creative common lisence.

Butterflies are vibrantly colored, beautiful flying insects with two pairs of large wings that differ in color and pattern from species to species. Their wings are enclosed with overlapping rows of tiny scales, a typical butterflies share with their fellow lepidopterans, the moths. Like other insects, butterflies have a hard exoskeleton, three pairs of jointed legs, antennae, compound eyes and three key body parts: head, thorax and abdomen. On the head are the eyes, antennae and proboscis - the lengthy, flexible "tongue" used to sip nectar and other fluid. The thorax is the point of accessory for the two pairs of wings, forewings and hind wings. The abdomen holds the reproductive and other vital organs.

Eggs are tiny, spherical to hemispherical, sometimes flat or spindle-shaped. Larvae are naturally elongate and separated into head, thorax, and abdomen. The head bears a group of short mouthparts, and the mandibles are potent. A tubular spinneret discharges liquid silk. The antennae are very short, and the eyes are a collection of very small stemmata on each side. The thorax has three segments, the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax, each with a couple of short, jointed legs. The abdomen has ten able to be seen segments, with a pair of short, fleshy prolegs on each segment; these bear many short hooks. The prothorax and abdominal segments every one bear a pair of respiratory openings, or tracheae. Internally the digestive system is very big and capacious, and a pair of silk glands is enormously long and complex. Several larvae are smooth; many are hairy, occasionally very densely; others bear spines and horns, sometimes long and ornate.

The adult's head bears two commonly long antennae, two large complex eyes, usually a pair of simple eyes (ocelli), one or two pairs of sensory palpi, and the tubular, curled proboscis. The thorax bears a pair of long, jointed legs on each segment and a pair of wings on each of the mesothorax and metathorax. In many families a pair of tympanic hearing organs is situated on the metathorax or the basal segment of the abdomen. The abdomen bears no appendages excluding for short geneitalic structures at the end. A pair of spiracles is situated on the prothorax and each of the first eight abdominal segments. The wings are membranous, maintained by a series of branching, tubular veins; in all but the most primal moths the forewings are the larger. The number and preparation of the veins are significant in classification.

Photo Source: Flickr under creative commons lisence.

Photo Source: Flickr under creative commons lisence

In the two most important families, Microptery gidae (mandibulate moths) and Hepialidae (Ghost Moths), the adult mouthparts of some are for chewing. Fore and hind wings are like in size and venation and are linked by a special flap.

The families of this group are habitually called microlepidoptera or micro moths because most of them are quite small, but some, such as the Cossidae (Wood-boring Moths), are big. The very small larvae of some mine in single leaves. Many larvae exist in rolled-up or tied-together leaves; others bore into fruits or stems. Many are grave agricultural or forest pests.

These are repeatedly called the macro moths, even though some are quite small, and include the majority of the larger and more familiar species. The noctuids represent the largest family in the order, and geometrids the second largest family. In a few families the mouthparts are greatly reduced, and the adults do not feed.

The Two families Megathymidae (giant skippers) and Hesperiidae (skippers) are remarkably fast fliers and quick dodgers, flying by day, and eager flower visitors. The giant skippers are a small, New World group, whose larvae bore stiff into the stems of yuccas and agaves. The real skippers are found worldwide, with thousands of species. Most skippers have a hook at the pointer of the antennae beyond the knob. Their larvae have a separate, narrow neck between the head and prothorax. The skippers share description of both butterflies and moths and are placed in a separate group.

Photo Courtesy All the photos in this gallery is from: Flickr page under creative commons lisence.