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Q&A About the Insects

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 December 2005, 18:00 CST

Q: What is a butterfly?

A: A butterfly is a type of insect, and it belongs to the order of insects called Lepidoptera, which means "scaled wings."

Q: How many species of Lepidoptera are there?

A: There are about 265,000 species of butterflies and moths. Only about 20,000 are butterflies. In China, there are 1,222 species of butterflies, according to "Chinese Butterflies Fauna" (Zhongguo Dielei Zhi) compiled by Professor Zhou Yao in 2000.

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: 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.

Q: Which is the largest butterfly in the world?

A: Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world, with a wingspan of 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: Which 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: Which is the smallest butterfly in the world?

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

Q: Which is the smallest moth in the world?

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

Source: China Daily; North American ed.

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