[ back ]
Animal Talk
(by Ginny Fleming - August 14, 2006)
What insect is sometimes named a ³winged flower² or a ³flying gem?²
Butterflies are the most beautiful and graceful of all insects. Some poets
have called butterflies ³winged flowers² or ³flying gems.² Butterflies are
found throughout the world. Some live on cold mountaintops or even near the
North and South poles. Some live in the deserts and others like the hot
forests near the equator.
It¹s hard to believe that this beautiful butterfly was once a wormlike
creature called the caterpillar. Caterpillars hatch from the eggs of
butterflies and later turn into butterflies. Caterpillars eat leaves and
fruit and can harm crops. But butterflies themselves do no harm because they
cannot bite or chew. Butterflies fly from flower to flower drinking the
sweet liquid called nectar. At the same time they make it possible for the
flowers to develop into fruits and seeds by carrying pollen from one flower
to another. This beautiful insect does not grow in size as they become
older. Small butterflies stay small and large butterflies were always large.
The largest wingspread of a butterfly is 11 inches. This butterfly is known
as the Queen Alexandra, the largest butterfly in all the world. It lives
only in New Guinea.
Want to get more butterflies in your yard? Look through the Family Flyer to
find the Butterfly Surprise!
[ back ]
