LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Butterflies
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Butterflies and moths are similar animals, but they have some general differences. The main difference is that butterflies have knobs, or clubs, on the tips of their antennae. Moths may have threadlike, feathery, or blunt antennae, but their antennae lack clubs. In addition, most moths tend to fly chiefly at night, while butterflies are active during the day. When at rest, most moths hold their wings folded flat over their backs, while butterflies hold their wings upright over their backs or bask with them spread flat out to the side. Many species of moths have dull gray or brown wings, and butterflies often have wings with colorful patterns.
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Butterflies are very interesting insects! They live in all parts of the world and there are thousands of kinds. Some are less than a half-inch long, while others have a wing span of eight to 10 inches!
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Butterflies do not have teeth or mandibles. Rather, their feeding mechanism is a long double barreled tube called a proboscis. Because they feed through what is essentially a double barreled straw, butterfly diets are exclusively liquids. The preferred diets will vary considerably depending upon the butterfly species. While people generally think of butterflies as feeding from the nectar of flowers, other common diets include mud, cow dung, water and tree sap.
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Butterflies locate potential mates by sight, identifying the wing colors and patterns characteristic of their species. In some types of butterflies, males and females display different patterns on their wings. In other species, the wing markings look the same to the human eye. But either the males or females often have scales on their wings that reflect ultraviolet light, producing patterns that enable the butterflies to distinguish one sex from the other. During the breeding season the males of some species stake out territories, where they perch and watch for females.
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Butterflies are nested within the evolutionary tree of moths. Their origins may date back to the Cretaceous Period, ending 65 million years ago.[1] Unfortunately, the fossil record is very limited. The oldest known fossil is an unnamed possible skipper butterfly from the Upper Palaeocene (around 57 million year old) of Fur, Denmark [2]. One of the most beautifully preserved is a Metalmark butterfly (Voltinia dramba) from 25 million year old Dominican amber[3].
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Butterflies can be attracted to your garden by providing suitable flowers from which they can obtain nectar. Most butterflies can utilize a wide variety of flowers, including those of many cultivated varieties, as nectar sources. However, a more critical need is for the plants that provide food for the larval (caterpillar) stages, and most species will accept only one or a few species of plants at this stage. If a butterfly is found near your area, you can probably attract it and increase its population by planting the correct foodplants for the caterpillars. Although the caterpillars will feed on the leaves of these plants, the damage is usually minor and only temporary. Caterpillars of some species feed on plants that are usually considered weeds, and you can benefit populations of these species by not removing all of the weeds.
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Butterflies