Butterflies

Created by Melinda Frydenlund

Butterflies• Butterflies are found

in most parts of the world.

• They like warm sunshine.

• Many butterflies migrate in the winter to find a warmer climate.

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• Butterflies are insects.

• Like all insects, they have six legs, 3 body parts, a pair of antennae, and 2 eyes.

• The three body parts are the head, thorax (the chest), and abdomen (the tail end).

Butterflies

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Butterflies• Most butterflies eat nectar.

• Nectar is a sweet liquid found in flowers.

• Some butterflies eat fruit.

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ButterfliesThere are four stages in the life of a butterfly.

The male butterfly chases a female butterfly and they mate. The female butterfly lays her eggs on a leaf.

A few days later, a larva—or caterpillar—hatches. Caterpillars spend most of their time eating. They eat leaves and sometimes other insects.

A few weeks later, the chrysalis splits open and a beautiful butterfly appears!

Soon the caterpillar hangs upside down from a fence or plant. Her skin gets hard and she becomes a chrysalis.

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The Monarch Butterfly

• Monarch butterflies live in North, Central, and South America.

• In the winter, they fly long distances to find warmer weather.

• In the winter, most Monarch butterflies migrate to California and Mexico.

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The Monarch Butterfly

• Monarch butterflies are bright orange with black lines and white spots on their wings.

• Orange patches are found near the top of the forewings.

• The body is black with white spots.

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The Monarch Butterfly

• A Monarch caterpillar eats the leaves from a poisonous plant called milkweed.

• Monarch butterflies, like all butterflies, sip liquid food using a proboscis, which is a long, flexible "tongue."

• Monarchs drink nectar from many flowers, including milkweed, dogbane, red clover, thistle, lantana, lilac, and goldenrod.

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The Painted Lady Butterfly• Painted Lady butterflies live in Europe.

• In the winter, they fly long distances to find warmer weather.

• In the winter, most Painted Lady butterflies migrate to North Africa and southern Europe.

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The Painted Lady Butterfly

• The Painted Lady butterfly is mostly black, brown, and orange with some white spots.

• The underside is gray with white and red markings.

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The Painted Lady Butterfly

• Painted Lady caterpillars eat thistle, mallow, malva, hollyhock, sunflower, or canola.

• Painted Ladies, like all butterflies, sip liquid food using a proboscis, which is a long, flexible "tongue."

• Adults sip sweet thistle and clover nectar.

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The Painted Lady Butterfly

• As you can see, there are many similarities and differences between Monarch butterflies and Painted Lady butterflies.

• Click on the picture of the Venn Diagram below and show me what you learned about butterflies!

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Use your mouse to click and drag each fact to the correct place on the Venn Diagram. Then, add more similarities and diff erences by typing in the purple boxes.

Monarch Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

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