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Butterflies for Kids A Butterfly's Workaday World |
In
everyday life butterflies mainly think about eating, escaping from predators and
finding a partner.
During their lifetime, butterflies feed on several things. Different species of butterflies prefer different kinds of food.
But they are also eaten by other animals. So they had to develop different means to protect from predators.
There is only one danger they cannot protect from - you know it very well: humans.
| Food | |
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Most
caterpillars feed on leaves. Some have specialized in one single kind of
plant.
Others eat things like hair of animals, wax, textiles, dead insects or even attack other caterpillars.
The caterpillars of some Blues, such as the Large Blue, have an exceptional way to get food. They produce a sweet liquid when ants are nearby. The ants love this liquid. When the caterpillar has shed its skin for the last time, the ants carry it in their nest where they feed it because it behaves like an ants’ larva. The caterpillar still produces its sweet liquid for the ants but it also eats their larvae.
There are adult moths who never eat anything because they don’t have mouths. They only eat when they are caterpillars. So their life as an adult moth doesn’t last very long.
However, others can eat - and they do.
As
you surely know, many butterflies and moths like the nectar of flowers. However,
this is not the only thing they feed on. Some species are attracted by things
that don’t sound very delicious for us: rotten fruit and mushrooms, the "juice"
of cut trunks or even eye liquids of animals and blood. And you don’t consider
stinking cheese and excrement a good meal? Well, if you were a butterfly, you
would think different!
| Predators | |
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Not only adult butterflies but also eggs, caterpillars and chrysalis are a liked meal for scorpions, ants, birds and insects.
Mice... ...and spiders like butterflies
There are insects which lay their eggs into caterpillars. Their larvae live inside the caterpillar and feed on it. These insects are called parasites. If the chrysalis of the caterpillar is opened later, the parasites come out instead of a butterfly.
| Means of protection | |
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...getting
invisible...
Some caterpillars and chrysalis have a special pattern making them look like
their surroundings. When this caterpillar was younger, it looked like a bird
dropping.
Do you recognize the moth? A hungry animal passing by would hardly do.
...using an armour...
A cocoon makes it hard to eat the animal inside.
...weapons to defend...
Birds can get injured by the hair of this caterpillar.
It also irritates the skin, so better don’t touch it!
Bright colors say: Caution! I’m inedible!
The poison comes from the plants the butterfly ate as a caterpillar.
Attacking your nose: When the caterpillars of some species are poked, they emit
butyric acid that stinks horribly!
...fooling...
This butterfly looks like a strong, defensive wasp...
...and this one copies a poisonous butterfly. The poisonous butterfly is the one
on the right. This is called mimicry.
The backs of some species look like heads. To strengthen this impression they sit with their real head facing the ground. Birds will be fooled and attack the wrong side which is less sensitive.
...and scaring predators...
Wouldn’t you be surprised if these eyes on the wings of a butterfly suddenly
flashed in front of you?. Birds would be very scared.
...slipping away...
A butterfly is covered with detachable scales so it can easily slip away
when it gets into the web of a spider or when it is attacked.
| A Big Danger | |
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In former times there were many collectors who
liked butterflies because of their beautiful colors. They couldn’t get enough
of these animals so they kept on killing and collecting them. For the
butterflies this was not very good, their number got a lot smaller in some
cases.
But today they are even more endangered. Their living space, swamps or forests, for example, is being destroyed. Some kinds of butterflies only feed on one special plant. If this plant is killed, the butterfly disappears, too, because there is nothing for it to eat any more.
Farmers use poisons called insecticides to get rid of the insects eating their crops. But they kill other insects as well, including butterflies. On the other hand the caterpillars of some butterfly species can also be an agricultural pest.
Many butterflies die in the traffic on the roads.
The worst thing is that butterflies cannot protect from these dangers. They can hide perfectly, but this is of no help when they don’t find anything to eat.
You see, if we are not careful, we can easily kill this species. The butterfly cannot protect itself, we must do it if we don’t want it to disappear forever.
We should keep natural areas and leave them as they are to keep the butterfly’s natural surrounding and food plants. Farmers should try to avoid insecticides and other poisons because they are not only dangerous for butterflies, but also pollute the water and kill other animals.
