butterfly

views updated

butterfly Day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera. The adult has two pairs of scale-covered wings that are often brightly coloured. The female lays eggs on a selected food source and the (caterpillar) larvae emerge within days or hours. The larvae have chewing mouthparts and often do great damage to crops until they reach the “resting phase” of the life cycle, the pupa (chrysalis). Within the pupa, the adult (imago) is formed with wings, wing muscles, antennae, a slender body and sucking mouthparts. The adults mate soon after emerging from the chrysalis, and the four-stage life cycle begins again. See also metamorphosis

More From encyclopedia.com