• Female butterflies usually are bigger and live longer than male butterflies.
• A butterfly has compound eyes: each eye is made up of about 6,000 tiny parts called lenses, which let in light.
• The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing from the island of New Guinea is the largest butterfly; it can have a wingspan of 11 inches!
• Most butterflies make no sound, but some in Florida and Texas make a loud clicking sound with their wings.
• Butterflies do not get bigger as they age - a young butterfly is a caterpillar!
• The female moth produces a scent that a male moth can smell a mile away.
• Butterflies are related to crabs and lobsters! Why? Because like those sea creatures, butterflies have skeletons on the outside of their bodies. They’re arthropods: insects,
  crustaceans, millipedes, centipedes and arachnids.
• Butterflies weigh only as much as two rose petals, but can fly thousands of miles.
• Butterflies can’t hear, but they can feel vibrations.
• Caterpillars are not worms. Caterpillars have legs; worms do not.

Adult butterflies pollinate many different plant species, and many flowers have specific adaptations for attracting them.

Many butterfly attractors bear dense clusters of small flowers that enable the butterfly to sip nectar simply by moving its proboscis from one blossom to another. Such flowers allow the butterfly to conserve energy while feeding.

Most butterflies and many other insects can see ultraviolet, a color that is invisible to human eyes. Many flowers and butterfly wings include ultraviolet in their color mix. Within a species, the presence or absence of these markings typically helps to differentiate between males and females.

Flowers also use the secret communication line of ultraviolet. The flower’s color, form, aroma and nectar guides work in combination as signals and signposts to efficiently guide the butterfly or other insect to the source of nectar.

The blooms that we enjoy with our eyes and noses are also the beacons, landing platforms and launching pads for pollinators. In the process, insects get dusted with pollen, which they carry to other flowers. This, in turn, helps the plants produce seed and reproduce.

Most butterflies prefer flowers that are pink, red, purple or yellow and that are open all day. Most moths lean toward pale or white flowers that open in the evening.

There are orchids in Madagascar that are totally dependent on hawk moths for pollination.

Humans need butterflies. Often unnoticed, they play an important role in maintaining the balance of nature and health of the living world. Here are only a few of the benefits butterflies provide:

• Butterflies pollinate wild plants and our crops, ensuring the production of seeds and fruits required for the continued survival of plants and animals, including humans.
• Due to their fragility to ecological change, butterflies are elegant indicators of ecosystem health.
• Butterflies are a valuable source of food for songbirds.

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