If you have general questions about butterflies, click here!
What exactly do butterflies do at night? As they can't get any nectar and it's too dark to find a mate, butterflies choose to take their rest once the sun goes down. Butterflies don't sleep as we do, but they do enter a dormant state of inactivity as
Frass is the excrement of insect larvae, also known as caterpillar poop! The brown balls you see in your Cup of Caterpillars™ are caterpillar frass.
How many legs does a caterpillar have? The answer may surprise you!. A caterpillar usually has 16 legs: three pairs of true legs and five pairs of "prolegs"! Prolegs are different than "true" legs in that they are not segmented, acting more like suct
Because of their egg mass, females have a larger, more rounded abdomen than males. Look at your butterflies from above. The male butterfly’s abdomen has straight sides, while the female’s abdomen is curved.
Once your caterpillars arrive, the entire life-cycle from caterpillar to butterfly is approximately three weeks.
Butterflies can fly and feed safely in temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Like all insects, their bodies contain chemical compounds known as glycols, which help them endure cold weather. Once the snow starts falling however, they'll need a pla
Caterpillars (like your Painted Lady caterpillars) go through five molting stages/stages of growth. Each of these stages is called an instar. So before your caterpillar becomes a chrysalis, it goes through five instars!
When your butterfly first emerges, you’ll notice that their wings are crumpled and damp from being inside the chrysalis. It takes about an hour for their wings to fully form and harden.
All butterflies die within a few weeks after emergence from the chrysalis. The exception to this are those butterflies that emerge near the wintertime and have their physiologies placed on hold by the colder temperatures. In the few weeks of their li
Butterflies and moths may look similar, and they both fall under the classification Lepidoptera, but they are two distinct species. There are few ways you can tell the difference between these two fluttering insects. There you have it! The next time
You may be wondering, what's the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon? While the words may be used interchangeably, they actually are two different things!. A chrysalis is a hard outer shell that protects the butterfly pupa as it develops. A c
When learning more about butterflies, you might have come across the word Lepidoptera. But what does that mean? And how does it relate to our fluttering friends?. In entomology (the study of insects) insects are divided into main groups depending on
The "dust" on a butterfly's wing is not dust at all, but tiny individual hairs called scales. These scales serve many important purposes for butterflies. So you see, butterfly scales are for more than just looking pretty! They serve a variety of purp
Insect Lore only carries the Painted Lady butterfly. The latin name for the Painted Lady butterfly is "Vanessa Cardui". Painted Ladies are one of the most hardy and widespread butterfly species in the world, and are native to Canada, the United State
Butterflies don't have a mouth like you and me, so how do they eat? The butterflies feed upon nectar with their elongated proboscis. The proboscis acts as a tube through which the butterfly sips its food. When they are not eating, the butterfly keeps
To make nectar for your butterflies, mix 2 teaspoons of sugar with 1/4 cup water and dissolve thoroughly drip a few drops of nectar onto the feeder sponge daily. If you do not have a feeder sponge, drip a few drops of nectar onto a cotton ball, place
Butterflies (including our very own Painted Ladies) have the ability to taste with their feet. That may seem strange to us, but it serves a very important purpose. When a butterfly lands on a leaf, they are tasting and testing it to see if their cate
Painted lady butterflies migrate only occasionally, and migrations occur every 8 to 10 years on average. When these migrations occur in the autumn, millions of butterflies form streams of flying individuals that sweep from Canada and the contiguous U
The biggest threat to butterflies is loss of their habitat.
Caterpillars don't see the world like you and me! The have 12 eyes, six on each side of their head, that don't really process images but do help them detect light.
It may be tempting to offer your butterflies some food right after they emerge, but they need some time to adjust after their big transformation. Offer your butterflies some food a few hours after emergence.
It may look like your butterfly only has four legs, but it really has six! The last set of your butterfly’s legs is tucked up high on the thorax and is very easily overlooked. Butterflies are insects, and all insects have six legs.
A larva is the juvenile form many animals take before they go through metamorphosis. In Insect Lore's case, "Larva” is another word for “caterpillar”!
Painted Ladies are fast fliers, they can reach speeds of nearly 30 miles per hour!
Painted Ladies can cover a lot of ground and can fly up to 100 miles per day, and 2500 miles in their lifetime!