Butterflies | UC Master Gardeners of San Diego County

Pollinators are critical to our landscape, food supply and economy.
Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food.
They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce.
Agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would collapse without the actions of pollinators.
Understanding the life cycle, needs and threats is key to preserving and protecting pollinators.
Major threats to all pollinators include: Habitat degradation and loss, non-native species and diseases, pollution, pesticides and climate change.

Butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera. In Latin, Lepidoptera literally means ‘scale wings’, referring to the minute scale-like structures on the wings of both butterflies and moths.
There are about 18,000 known species of butterflies, worldwide.
Weight: 0.0001 ounce for the smallest to 0.1 ounce for the largest.
Size: Butterflies range in size from 0.5 inch to almost 12 inches.
Smallest - the Blue Pygmy has a wingspan of just over 0.5 inch.
Largest - New Guinea’s Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, measures up to 12 inches.
Groups of butterflies are called a ‘flutter’.
The state insect of California is the Dogface Butterfly (Zerene euryidice).
"Puddle clubs" are groups of butterflies that gather at mud puddles to suck up minerals and nutrients.

Butterflies are cold-blooded. Hot or warm climates provide the best conditions for them to thrive. Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is below 86 degrees F.
Antarctica is the only continent on which no butterflies have been found.
A caterpillar’s first meal is its own eggshell. It will next eat the leaves of the plant on which it was hatched. This is called the “host” or larval plant.
An adult butterfly uncoils its*long, straw-like proboscis to sip nectar from flowers, juice from rotting fruit and water from puddles.
Many butterflies can taste with their feet. They do this to find out whether the leaf they are on is good for laying eggs and is a good source of food for caterpillars.
Butterflies have their skeletons on the outside of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. It protects the butterfly and keeps water inside its body so it will not dry out.
Butterflies can see red, green and yellow.
The top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour.

Butterflies	Moths
Active during the day	Active at night
Brightly colored	Earth-toned, subdued colors
Wings rest together and upright	Wings rest at side or flat
Straight, slender and clubbed antennae	Feathered or pointed antennae
Thin body	Thick body
Chrysalis of pupae is a hardened shell	Cocoon of pupae is spun from silk-like material

Note: Butterflies and moths in the caterpillar stage are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart.

Wildlife – Butterflies and their eggs are food for birds, snakes, toads, rats, lizards and frogs.
Pesticides – Over-use or inappropriate use results in reduced numbers of butterflies.
Habitat Loss – Residential and commercial land development results in less space for butterflies.
Weather – Cold weather causes them to weaken and hot weather reduces the number of flowers that are their food source.

• Gulf Fritillary, Monarch, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Anise Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, Marine Blue, Mourning Cloak

Aspen, Aster, Birch, Carrot, Cassia, Citrus, Dill, Fennel, Legume,

Mallow, Milkweed, native grass, Parsley, Penta, Passion Flower,

Plumbago, Thistle, Willow, Verbena

Asclepias (Milkweed), Buddelja (Butterfly Bush), Coreopsis,

Echium fastuosum (Pride of Madeira), Escallonia, Hebe, Lantana,

Lavender, Purple Coneflower, Salvia, Verbena, Zinnia

Detailed plant lists are available at the San Diego Natural History Museum website.

http://www.sdnhm.org/archive/exhibits/monarca/hostplants.html**

http://www.sdnhm.org/archive/exhibits/monarca/nectarplants.html*

• Learn to recognize different butterflies, caterpillars and eggs.

• Plant butterfly friendly plants (see list above). Include native plants.

• Provide water, sunny locations and rocks for them to rest upon.

• Minimize pesticide spraying. Encourage beneficial insects to minimize problem insects.

• Lightly prune your garden plants. Butterflies like a natural looking garden.

click on “Checklist of Butterflies of San Diego

County” link at*bottom*of*page*

Monarch Guide - JW 2024