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The patterns and colors of the butterflies help it in its environment. We spotted many caterpillars when we searched the ecosystem of our Nature Center.
Butterflies have structural adaptations such as eye spots and other markings that draw attention to enemies. Instead of looking at vital parts, they look at the wings and ignore them because they think they are larger than what they really are. In most butterflies, their wings are colored like their surroundings so they are well camouflaged.
Butterflies are attracted to bright colored flowers such as yellow, pink, orange, light blue, and purple. They are also attracted to butterfly weed, clover, and phlox. Their niche is to fly from flower to flower and pollinate the flowers and trees.
A butterfly goes through 4 cycles. This is called metamorphosis. First it is an egg, then larva (which is the caterpillar), then pupa (which is the cocoon), and last an adult.
Butterflies can't protect their weak bodies very well, so a behavioral adaptation is that the butterfly reproduces in great numbers. A female may lay several hundred eggs in a lifetime.
There is mimicry between two butterflies. The Viceroy and the Monarch are these butterflies. The difference between these butterflies are that the Monarch is larger than the Viceroy. Though they look very much alike, they both taste bad to animals. The colors and patterns of the butterflies help to protect the organisms against predators.
We have learned a lot about
butterflies. We hope to find more in our Nature Center. We are
glad we planted the butterfly bushes because they really like
this plant.
By: Kayla, Kari, and Gabriel