The Wonders of the Butterfly World
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My introduction to the Butterfly World
They are fascinating creatures that delight so many people in their short (2-3 week) life span. One of my favorite butterflies is the Green banded peacock, which is pictured in this section. It is native to the Philippine Islands.
Life Cycle of the Butterfly is amazingly short.
The life cycle of the average butterfly is less than three months. During this time the butterfly goes through four stages.> The egg stage lasts 3-8 days.
> The larva or caterpillar stage lasts 21-40 days.
> The pupa or chrysalis stage lasts 8-15 days.
> The adult butterfly lives 2-3 weeks.
During the time the adult butterfly is alive it's main function is to mate and lay eggs. Thus the cycle of life starts again. The adult butterfly pictured in this section is called The Postman and is found in Central and South America.
Tropical Butterflies at The Butterfly House
I volunteer at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield, Mo. You can find more information about them at their website The Butterfly HouseThe Butterfly House gets their butterflies shipped to them from butterfly farms around the world. They are shipped in the chrysalis stage and we recieve several shipments each week. The Butterfly House has about 2000 tropical butterflies in the flight house that represent 60-80 different species.
The butterfly that is pictured in this section is the Malachite (Siproeta stelienes) and it was raised on a butterfly farm in Costa Rica).
The Monarch Family
Migration of Butterflies
The Monarchs are an interesting group of butterflies. We see many Monarchs in the United States where they migrate in the summertime from Mexico. Since adult butterflies normally live only 2-3 weeks I was very curious how they could fly all the way to Mexico.What I found out was that each year as the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler, the last generation of that years butterflies stop laying eggs and store up their energy for the long flight south. These butterflies actually live for several months while they winter in warmer climates. They are truly amazing creatures.
You can follow their migration at the following site. www.monarchwatch.org
The butterfly pictured in this section is called The Paper Kite and is native to Malaysia and the Philippines. It is also a member of the Monarch or Danaidae family.
Paperkite Feeding

Here is a photo of a Paperkite having a snack.
The Atlas Moth
The Atlas moth is a very large brightly colored moth. In fact, if you consider it's total wing size, it is the largest moth in the world. This moth does all it's eating in the larva stage. It flies mostly at night. It is a very popular sight at the Butterfly House in Chesterfield, Mo. It is the only moth in the conservatory and can often be seen spread out on a tree trunk. You can see some great photos of the moth under "Raising moths and Butterflies" in the more Butterfly information section. Photographic Treasures by Mary Beth
Great Products with Butterfly Designs
World of Butterflies Wall Calendar
The World of Butterfly calendar featured below has 12 months of butterflies from around the world. Enjoy this 2009 calendar yourself or use it for a great Christmas gift idea.
Thoas Swallowtail Butterfly Throw Pillow
This pillow shows a yellow and black tropical butterfly with it's wings spread wide apart. This is a great gift idea for the butterfly enthusiast.
The Common Blue Morpo
Order this design on a host of products.

The Common Blue Morpo( Morpho peledes)is native to Costa Rica. I photographed this butterfly at The Butterfly House and have created a host of products with this design. Enjoy the design on tshirts, shirts, coasters, keepsake boxes and much more. You can find the products at the following webstore.
www.cafepress.com/mbgbutterflies
Blue Morpho Butterfly Designs
Monarch on Purple Flower
Birthday Greeting card
I thought it would be a great design for this birthday greeting card.

Monarch on Purple Flower, Happy Birthday by mbgphoto
Browse Butterfly birthday card Cards
A Visit to the Butterfly House

The Butterfly House is a delightful place to bring children for a visit. They love to see the butterflies flying all around them. There is also displays of various insects. My youngest granddaughter, Ella, liked the "bug" displays best.
Learning about Butterflies

Here my granddaughter, Rachel, is viewing the Common Mormon. The Butterfly House is a great place for children to learn about butterflies.
Butterfly Gifts for Children
Decorate with Butterflies
Butterfly Quote
Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it eludes you. But if you turn your attention to other things, It comes and sits softly on your shoulder.
Nathanial Hawthorne
Beautiful Butterfly Gifts
Vote for one on the list or add your own
Be sure to vote for your favorite buttefly gift.
BUTTERFLY Crystal Necklace in Butterfly Gift Box!
Gorgeous Pendant with genuine European Crystals in more...1 point
Fiber Optic Night Light - Butterfly
Here is an Outstanding Fiber Optic Night Light - a more...0 points
Brass Butterfly Pins 2dz
Brass Butterfly Pins.Colorful butterfly pins. Six more...0 points
Pewter Toned Butterfly Messenger Bag
Capture the season's hottest looks, plush quilting more...0 points
Hummingbirds Butterfly Butterflies Clutch For Makeup Travel or Purse - Best Unique Gifts and Gift Ideas Women Woman Ladies Girls or College Students
The Broad Bay clutch features a zipper top, vinyl more...0 points
Great Butterfly Jewelry
Gifts for the Butterfly Enthusiast
More Lenses on Butterflies
Here are some Butterfly lenses that I found interesting. Enjoy!-
Wild Florida - Butterflies
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Fair Child of Sun and Summer! we behold With eager eyes thy wings bedropp'd with gold; The purple spots that o'er thy mantle spread, The sapphire's lively blue, the ruby's red, Ten thousand various blended tints surprise, Beyond the rainbow's hues or...
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Butterflies 101
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Left: Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) Butterflies are insects with four large wings that feed either on the nectar of flowers or on fruit. Together with moths, butterflies make up the scientific order Lepidoptera - the word means 'scaly wings'....
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The Beauty of the Swallowtail Butterfly
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Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies which form the family Papilionidae. There are at least 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica. The family includes...
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The Beauty of the Birdwing Butterfly
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Birdwing Butterflies are large, tropical papilionid butterflies native to mainland and archipelagic Southeast Asia and Australasia (with one Indian species), and are usually regarded as belonging to three genera: Ornithoptera, Trogonoptera and Troide...
I Love Butterflies Shirt
wonderful gift for the butterfly enthusiast
More Butterfly Information
- The Butterfly House
- This is the site for The Butterfly House in Chesterfield, MO. The photographs in the modules were all taken at The Butterfly House. Check out this link for additional photos and information.
- Butterfly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Butterfly From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
- Monarch Watch : Migration & Tagging : Fall Migration
- Monarch Watch is a cooperative network of students, teachers, volunteers and researchers dedicated to the study of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus and its spectacular fall migration.
- Monarch Watch : Migration & Tagging : Fall Migration
- Monarch Watch is a cooperative network of students, teachers, volunteers and researchers dedicated to the study of the Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus and its spectacular fall migration.
- Raising Moths and Butterflies
- Beautiful photos of the Atlas Moth.
Tropical Butterfly Books
Beautiful Tropical Butterflies
Tropical Butterflies Flights of Fancy
Best Minimized - Take a virtual vacation with us to watch incredibly beautiful tropical butterflies. Original photography, unbelievably clear and so close you could recognize their faces! Fantastic relaxing music is by Twinflame. We are certain you will love our new video!
More Buttefly Gifts from Cafe Press
Nature Photography
Stop by my gallery to see more photographs.
Beauty in Nature
Take a minute to rate this lens
Have you ever visited a Butterfly House? Tell us about your experience.
janices7 wrote...
This is a stunning lens - the photos are amazing and I love your use of product modules. Butterflies are amazing creatures with such a wide array of colors. 5* and lensrolled you to my Butterfly Themed Baby Showers lens.
nickupton wrote...
Nice photos and great idea to use them on cafepress products - I will have to set one up myself. Lensrolled this to my butterfly photo lens, maybe you will have time to look at it?
MarinaKuperman wrote...
Butterflies and butterfly gardens are like the thing to do in Costa Rica. I've been to a bunch and love them more and more every time I go. My son, 5, is practically a butterfly connoisseur :)
Fav'd, fived, fanned you:)
JenniferAkers wrote...
I'd LOVE to visit the Butterfly House. Great lens! Thank you for the beautiful closeups.
lucykitty wrote...
lovely lens! i just gave it 5****
thanks so much for your kind comment on my lens =^._.^=
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