The number of different butterflies on earth is probably closer to 20,000 species, but wow! Of those, only about 725 species actually live in North America, not including the 2000 species in Mexico. In Canada we have about 275 species that can be regularly seen on a year to year basis.
Butterflies are absolutely beautiful insects that come in all shapes, sizes and colours. They feed mostly on the nectar of flowers, but some also get nourishment from pollen, tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, decaying flesh and from puddling. Puddling is when a male butterfly gets nutrients from wet sand or dirt.
Some butterflies are easily identified, while others are extremely difficult because they resemble other species. For example, the Monarch may seem like an easy species to spot, but did you know that the Viceroy mimics it? Can you tell which is which? The Viceroy is smaller than the Monarch and has the black line that runs across the veins on the hindwings. Can you spot them?
There are quite a few really good books that you can use to identify Ontario butterflies and there is also a couple of online sources that I have used.
Another source that is good to look through is ON Nature Magazine’s Butterfly and Moth Guide.
Sources:
“Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera)”. Amateur Entomologists’ Society. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
Hall, Peter W.; Jones, Colin D.; Guidotti, Antonia; Hubley, Brad (2014). The ROM Field Guide to the Butterflies of Ontario. Toronto, Canada: Royal Ontario Museum.
Layberry, Ross A.; Hall, Peter W.; J. Donald, Lafontaine. (1998). The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 12 March 2108.
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Butterfly Banquets: Exploring Unique Feeding Habits Across Species - mothmystique.com says:
April 29, 2024 at 3:27 pm[…] are over 20,000 species of butterflies worldwide, each with its unique dietary preferences. Most adult butterflies feed on nectar from […]