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Useful Terms –

These will help you understand more about butterflies!

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  • Adult

    • The butterfly is the adult form and the last of four life stages in a butterfly’s life cycle.

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  • Camouflage

    • How an animal blends into its surroundings or disguises as something else.

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  • Chrysalis

    • The chrysalis is the third life stage in a butterfly’s life where it undergoes metamorphosis from caterpillar (second stage) to butterfly (fourth stage). The chrysalis stage is also known as the pupa.

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  • Egg

    • The first life stage in the butterfly life cycle. Butterflies begin life as an egg, deposited on a host plant by an adult female butterfly.

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  • Habitat             

    • The natural home or environment for an animal, plant or other organism that provides all the elements required to live and grow, including food and shelter.

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  •  Host plant

    • A species or group of plants upon which the caterpillars of specific butterfly species rely for food. In other words, the only plants certain caterpillars can eat to survive.

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  • Larvae

    • Also known as the caterpillar, this is the second life stage in the butterfly life cycle, between egg and pupa.

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  • Life cycle

    • The series of changes in the life of an organism, including reproduction. There are four stages in the butterfly life cycle.

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  • Migrate

    • To move from one place to another, usually for feeding, breeding, or to stay warm.

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  • Nectar

    •  A sugar-rich liquid produced by many flowering plants to attract pollinators, which is a part of a mutualist relationship (mutually beneficial).

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  • Overwinter

    • Live through the winter.

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  • Predator

    • An animal that hunts, catches, and eats other animals for food. The animals they hunt are called prey.

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  • Puddling

    • When butterflies gather on wet dirt. They drink the dirty water to get vitamins and minerals that keep them healthy.

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  • Pupa

    • The third stage in the butterfly life cycle, also known as the chrysalis, in between the caterpillar and butterfly stages (between larvae and adult stages). The pupa is a resting stage. During this time, the insect does not eat. It grows special adult body parts, like wings.

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  • Pupate

    • To change from a larva (like a caterpillar) into a pupa. This involves the caterpillar creating a hard shell.

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  • Territorial

    • Wanting to protect or control a certain space.

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