Q: What is a Butterfly?

A: A butterfly is a type of insect. Insects are distinguished from all other animals by having an external skeleton (a hard outer covering), three main body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen) and three pairs of jointed legs (all attached to the thorax). Butterflies belong to the order of insects called Lepidoptera, which means "scaled wings."

Q: How many species of Lepidoptera are there?

A: There are approximately 265,000 species of butterflies and moths. Only about 20,000 are butterflies.

Q: What are the differences between a butterfly and a moth?

A: Butterflies and moths are quite similar, but basic differences include:

• Most butterflies fly during the day. Most moths fly at night.
• Butterflies are often more colorful than moths - they attract mates with color (visible in daytime) and sleep at night. Night-flying moths attract mates by smell, while their colors camouflage them in daytime resting places.
• Most butterflies have club-shaped antennae. Moth antennae are feather-like or taper to a point.
• Male moth antennae can be more elaborate than female antennae. The increased surface area allows males to pick up scents (female pheromones) of potential mates from a longer distance. Male butterflies rely less on scent and more on vision in the search for mates.
• Moths have a thicker coating of scales than butterflies, giving them a furry appearance Why? Moths fly at night and do not have the sun to warm their bodies for flight, as do butterflies. Instead, moths generate heat internally by vibrating their muscles and their heavy scales insulate them against heat loss.

Q: How long does a butterfly live?

A: In the wild, most butterflies live about 7 to 10 days, if not eaten first. In captivity, butterflies can survive for 2 to 3 weeks. Some species of butterflies modify their nectar diet to include rotten fruit, pollen and animal excrement, and can live as long as 3 to 6 months, or even longer. The modified diet provides the butterflies with valuable amino acids that can help prolong life spans.

Q: What are the stages of a butterfly's life cycle?

A: There are four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly: the egg, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis and the adult.

Briefly, a butterfly starts as an egg. After about 4 to 5 days (some species take up to 3 weeks), the egg hatches and a tiny caterpillar (larva) emerges. The caterpillar starts to eat and will shed its skin 4 to 6 times as it gets bigger and bigger. After about 2 to 4 weeks, the caterpillar will be full-grown and transforms itself into a pupa/chrysalis. Inside the pupa, the caterpillar's body breaks down into a kind of soup from which grows the adult structure of the butterfly! This stage can take between 10 to 15 days. Finally, the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis. Adult butterflies will mate, the female will lay eggs and the life cycle starts over. The whole process is called metamorphosis, which means "change of form."

Q: What is the difference between a pupa, chrysalis and a cocoon?

A: Pupa and chrysalis have the same meaning: the transformation stage between the larva and the adult. While pupa can refer to this naked stage in either a butterfly or moth, chrysalis is strictly used for the butterfly pupa. A cocoon is the silk casing that a moth caterpillar spins around it before it turns into a pupa. When the caterpiller stage of some butterfly species is fully grown, it spins a button of silk and attaches the hind-most prolegs to it and hangs upside down in the "J" position in order to pupate (some actually sit in an upright position). This is the caterpillar's final molt as it transforms to a chrysalis. Many butterfly chrysalides are cryptic and blend into their surroundings.

Q: What is the largest butterfly in the world?

A: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan up to 1 foot (30 cm). This tropical butterfly is from the Rainforest in northern Papua New Guinea. The caterpillars eat the pipevine plant, which contains poison; this makes the butterfly toxic to predators, which will get sick if they eat it. They quickly learn to leave these huge butterflies alone.

Q: What is the largest moth in the world?

A: The Atlas Moth is found throughout the jungles of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The Atlas Moth adult has a wingspan of 1 foot (30 cm). This moth is so large that it is often mistaken for a small bird when it is flying! The Atlas Moth's cocoon looks like a piece of fruit hanging from a tree. The moth uses the markings on its forewings, which resemble a snake, to scare away predators. The Atlas does all its eating as a larva; the adult moth has no mouth and cannot eat.

Q: What is the smallest butterfly in the world?

A: This is often said to be the Pigmy Blue from the USA that is about 0.62 of an inch (1.5 cm) across the wings.

Q: What is the smallest moth in the world?

A: The Nepticulid moth, which is 0.1 inch long.

Q: Are butterflies important?

A: Yes! They are important as plant pollinators, second only to the bees. They also are very sensitive to the environment and thus are good indicators in assessing how healthy or unhealthy conditions are. They also have their own important place in the ecosystem like all animals do.

Q: Where do butterflies go at night?

A: At night or during bad weather, butterflies will usually hang from the undersides of leaves, or crawl into crevices in the bark of trees, between rocks, or other objects, and sleep.

Q: What do butterflies eat?

A: Most adult butterflies sip nectar from flowers through their proboscis that acts like a straw. Some species vary their nectar diet to include rotting fruit, pollen, excrement and carrion.

Q: What do caterpillars eat?

A: Almost all caterpillars eat plant materials. Most eat leaves, but some eat seeds, stems, roots, fruits, seed pods or flowers. The caterpillar of the Harvester butterfly eats aphids. Some lycaenid caterpillars eat ant larvae.

Q: Do butterflies hibernate or aestivate?

A: Yes. Some butterflies hibernate as adults, eggs, immature caterpillars or pupae in order to survive climate extremes, such as cold in the winter, or heat and drought in the summer. Butterflies can undergo a rest period called diapause, during which the vital functions are kept at the very minimum. No growth or development occurs in the egg, caterpillar or pupae, and the adult butterfly just hangs motionless in a suitable place, waiting for better conditions to arrive. Sorbitol and glycerol exist in the blood of some butterflies and function as natural anti-freeze agents.

Q: How many butterflies are in the Butterfly Rainforest?

A: At any time, approximately 55 to 65 species can be seen in the Rainforest. The continuous population will be several hundred. Approximately 900 adult butterflies will be added weekly.

Q: Where do we get our butterflies?

A: The majority of the butterflies in the Rainforest will be reared from pupae received from butterfly farms throughout the world, primarily Malaysia, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Suriname, El Salvador, Ecuador, Australia, New Guinea, Madagascar, Africa and Florida. The lab will rear some species of butterflies, primarily for larval display, but not with the intent to increase the adult population in the Rainforest. The rearing lab allows our guests a closer look at the life cycle of the butterfly, from egg to larva to pupa to adult. Visitors will have the chance to see voracious caterpillars feeding on their host plants along with a variety of pupae before they emerge as adults, some doing so daily!

Q: Will the butterflies reproduce in the Rainforest?

A: No. Mating does occur, but the females will not lay eggs because there are no host plants in the Rainforest. The Rainforst is considered to be a quarantine facility with access by the general public therefore host plants are not permitted. This eliminates any possible unauthorized butterfly breeding.

Q: Is the Butterfly Rainforest modeled after habitats found in Florida?

A: No. The goal is to reproduce an environment that is NOT characteristic of the United States. This sample rainforest will not only include plants from tropical areas, but will also include butterflies from around the world.

Q: What types of plants do we have in the Butterfly Rainforest?

A: There are a variety of general landscaping and nectar producing plants that provide the butterflies with a suitable habitat/environment. The "anchor" species in the Rainforest will be labeled and the remaining key species are listed on the plant/butterfly identification cards available at the entrance to the Rainforest.

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Caterpiller and Monarch photos by Jeff Gage.