There are amazing butterflies in the world - mayflies. This order includes more than 3,000 species of insects. In each of them, a one-day butterfly lives no more than a day, during which it manages to be born, leave offspring and die.
And their appearance is somewhat non-standard. A distinctive feature of most butterflies are light translucent wings and 2-3 long tail filaments.
Mayflies do not need to be distracted by searching for food. They simply do not have a normal mouth opening, and their digestive organs are filled with air.
Typically, the process of degeneration of a larva into a butterfly occurs simultaneously for many hundreds of insects. And they all go on their first flight together, where they split into pairs.
From a distance, the mating games of ephemerals look like a swarm of flying multi-colored snow over the water; up close, they look like a dance. First, the females flutter upward, hover for a few seconds (at the same time the males fly up to them) and smoothly glide downwards, then all elements of the dance are repeated again.
The purpose of the males after the “dance” is fulfilled. Most of them die right in the air and fall into the water to the delight of the fish, the rest will last another hour or two.
Female mayflies scatter across the territory of a river or lake to lay eggs. And by evening, their life also ends. One butterfly lays about 10,000 eggs. But out of this huge number, no more than a tenth of the total offspring is born. Most eggs and larvae are eaten by fish.
By the way, experienced fishermen who know about such gastronomic preferences of fish get good catches using mayfly larvae as bait. The offspring of mayflies differ from other inhabitants of the reservoir by the presence of ready-made tail filaments and tracheal gills
The larvae themselves, unlike the butterflies, are nothing remarkable. They are extremely voracious, grow actively and can molt about twenty times during their larval life. At the same time, they live for 2-3 years, as if in compensation for the short life of adults.
When the time comes to transform into a butterfly, so many gases accumulate inside the mayfly larva that the outer shell swells, floats and cracks. And the newborn butterfly clings to the remains of the shell and dries out.
Then the last molt of the insect occurs. The skin on the back of the day-old is torn and the butterfly flies up to perform its first and last dance. Mayflies are the only order of insects in which externally formed butterflies with wings can molt.
Despite the fact that mayfly offspring are left completely unattended, their number and distribution do not decrease. So far, these amazing insects have not been found only in the Hawaiian Islands and St. Helena Island.
How long does the average butterfly live?
Scientists typically study the lifespan and habits of butterflies by noting them in the wild and then either recapturing them or finding them later and recording the data. While they can also study them in captivity, it is always better to study the creatures in their natural habitat to get the most complete understanding of how they live.
Butterflies are exposed to more threats and predators in the wild, so studying them in this way gives scientists a more accurate idea of how long they typically live.
On average, most adult butterflies live only about two weeks. Some can live up to six weeks, and those that migrate to more tropical climates can live even longer before returning home to mate.
Life cycle of a butterfly
Butterflies live in four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa and butterfly.
Egg
During the egg stage, the mother butterfly lays her eggs on a plant that will provide proper nutrition for the larvae when they hatch. The eggs usually hatch in about a week, but the eggs of some species may take longer or less time. Butterflies typically take a "quantitative" approach to egg laying, so they lay a lot of eggs in the hope that a small portion will survive.
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Egg, New Jersey (1x.6mm). Butterflies glue eggs to leaves. The eggs will be destroyed if anyone tries to remove them from the plant.
Caterpillar
This is also known as the larval stage. The caterpillar's entire existence revolves around eating as much as possible in order to grow and store as many nutrients as possible. It uses this stored food later as an adult, so it is important for the caterpillar to eat well at this stage.
Did you know that at this stage of life, caterpillars can grow up to 100 times their original size? They have strong exoskeletons, so they are forced to molt and shed skin many times as they continue to grow. In some species, such as the Black Swallowtail, molting can significantly change the appearance of the caterpillar.
On average, caterpillars live at this stage for up to five weeks, depending on the species.
Monarch butterfly from caterpillar. Caterpillars only have 6 true legs and eat a lot.
Doll
This is more commonly known as the pupal stage. When the caterpillar is fully grown and no longer needs to eat, it begins a transitional phase of its life.
Some species of butterflies weave a silk cocoon for themselves, but most simply anchor themselves in a safe place and turn into a chrysalis. The duration of this stage can vary significantly between butterfly species. Some may only remain in the pupa for a couple of weeks, while others may remain in this state for up to two years.
During this transitional stage, the larva inside the pupa is completely liquefied and special cells that were previously dormant are now activated to transform the caterpillar into its final adult form.
Chrysalis butterfly hanging on a leaf. Inside the pupa, the pupa develops into an adult butterfly. This transformation can take several days for some butterflies and up to a year for others!
Adult
Once the adult butterfly emerges from its protective shell, it is now ready to reproduce and begin its life cycle all over again. Since the adult butterfly's only job is to mate and lay eggs, most species do not feed at all. This is why it is so important for caterpillars to store as much food as possible so that they can live as healthy adults.
A blue butterfly sits on a beautiful flower. Butterflies have no mouth; instead, they "suck up" food using a sort of drinking tube called a proboscis.
Night and day species of butterflies
Nocturnal butterflies differ from day butterflies in very few ways. The main difference is that during rest, the night butterfly folds its wings, but the day butterfly does not. Also, the color of the day butterfly is brighter. Its coloring includes blue, red, yellow, and other colors. While most of the moths are gray-black.
Therefore, there is no such criterion as night or day butterflies. Mostly people say this to simplify explanations about who they saw during the day or at night.
What affects the lifespan of a butterfly?
The lifespan of a butterfly is influenced by many factors.
How long do butterflies live: size
In general, smaller butterflies do not live as long as larger ones.
How long do butterflies live: types
Some species are able to live longer than others. For example, monarch butterflies often live for several months because they migrate to warmer climates.
How long do butterflies live: temperature
Butterflies are cold-blooded, so their lifespan is also affected by the ambient temperature. Tropical and migratory butterflies tend to live longer because they spend more time in favorable climates. Additionally, if butterfly eggs are laid in cold weather, they will remain as eggs until warmer weather arrives.
How long do butterflies live: captivity
As mentioned earlier, butterflies that live in the wild often have a much shorter lifespan because they are exposed to nature. The wild contains predators such as birds and larger insects, and factors such as sudden temperature changes or changes in habitat can dramatically shorten a butterfly's lifespan.
Although butterflies living in captivity have a relatively short lifespan, they will almost always far outlive their natural lifespan. This is because they have access to abundant nutrients in the form of caterpillars, a safe environment for pupae, and a controlled, predator-free environment as adults.
What kind of life do mayflies lead?
Burrowing forms lead
secretive
lifestyle
, they are difficult to detect.
The clayey banks of rivers are indented with burrows of larvae. Aquatic invertebrates often crawl into them and become prey for predatory mayflies
.
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Interesting facts about the lifespan of butterflies
- Did you know that many species of adult butterflies are born without a mouth? Some can ingest nectar from flowers, but most species rely on the nutrients they have been able to store as caterpillars. This is why adults usually have a short life expectancy.
- Only one or two out of every 100 butterfly eggs survive to the caterpillar stage. Because so many eggs are lost to predators and disease, female butterflies lay hundreds of eggs at a time.
- Some butterflies live longer by hibernating in safe and warm places. Others, such as the North American monarch butterfly, migrate across the country to spend the colder months in places like California.
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