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The larvae – caterpillars – have a toughened (sclerotised) head capsule, chewing mouthparts, and a soft body, that may have hair-like or other projections, three pairs of true legs, and up to five pairs of prolegs. Most caterpillars are herbivores, but a few are carnivores (some eat ants, aphids, or other caterpillars) or detritivores. [2]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is pushing for added protections for the monarch butterfly after suggesting multiple populations could go extinct in mere decades.
A loss in butterflies also means a loss in biological wealth. Butterflies are known as the "flying flower' [39] as they are beautiful and carry a large aesthetic value. Dwindling numbers and the following decline of ecosystems will lead to greater loss of biological wealth over time, as without pollinators many plants will not grow or bloom.
Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle. [3] Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry, and aposematism to evade their predators. [4]
Overwintering, roosting butterflies have been seen on basswoods, elms, sumacs, locusts, oaks, osage-oranges, mulberries, pecans, willows, cottonwoods, and mesquites. [74] While breeding, monarch habitats can be found in agricultural fields, pasture land, prairie remnants, urban and suburban residential areas, gardens, trees, and roadsides ...
Skin rashes are the most common, but there have been fatalities. [32] Lonomia is a frequent cause of envenomation in Brazil, with 354 cases reported between 1989 and 2005. Lethality ranging up to 20% with death caused most often by intracranial hemorrhage. [33] Caterpillar hair has also been known to cause kerato-conjunctivitis.
They are also called brush-footed butterflies or four-footed butterflies, because they are known to stand on only four legs while the other two are curled up; in some species, these forelegs have a brush-like set of hairs, which gives this family its other common name.
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