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Butterfly evolution is the origin and diversification of butterflies through geologic time and over a large portion of the Earth's surface. The earliest known butterfly fossils are from the mid Eocene epoch, between 40-50 million years ago.
The oldest butterfly fossils have been dated to the Paleocene, about 56 million years ago, though molecular evidence suggests that they likely originated in the Cretaceous. [1] Butterflies have a four-stage life cycle, and like other holometabolous insects they undergo complete metamorphosis. [2]
The butterfly then extends and retracts its wings. Once conditions allow, it flies and feeds on many nectar plants. During the breeding season, adults reach sexual maturity in 4–5 days. However, the migrating generation does not reach maturity until overwintering is complete. [43] Monarch butterflies flying and sipping nectar from milkweed ...
In an important example of co-evolution, a number of highly successful insect groups — especially the Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants) and Lepidoptera (butterflies) as well as many types of Diptera (flies) and Coleoptera (beetles) — evolved in conjunction with flowering plants during the Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago). [5] [6]
Butterflies come in almost all colors of the rainbow including red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, black, and white. As mentioned above, butterflies are a symbol of personal growth and ...
The Lepidoptera fossil record encompasses all butterflies and moths that lived before recorded history. The fossil record for Lepidoptera is lacking in comparison to other winged species, and tending not to be as common as some other insects in the habitats that are most conducive to fossilization , such as lakes and ponds, and their juvenile ...
Amy Rose Perry always knew she wanted to release monarch butterflies at her Cape Cod wedding in honor of her father, Nathaniel Machain, who died on Aug. 5, 1999 when she was just 7 years old.
New York's Bronx Zoo's Valentine's Day offerings come with merch. ... A Madagascar hissing cockroach crawls on a stick at Idlewild Butterfly Farm in Louisville, Kentucky on July 21, 2023.