Butterflies Essay, Research Paper

Butterflies are flying insects, which comprise the order Lepidoptera

with. There are about 15,000 to 20,000 kinds of butterflies. Butterflies are

holometobore insects. The largest butterfly ever found is the Queen

Alexandra?s butterfly. Scientific and non-scientific vocabulary words which

must be learned before reading this section in alphabetical order: Abdomen:

(noun) 1. The part of the body in mammals, that lies between the thorax and the

pelvis. 2. In arthropods the major part of the body behind the thorax.

Appendage: (noun) (1. Something attached to a larger entity.) 2. A subordinate

or derivative bodily part Conceal: (verb) to keep from observation, discovery,

or understanding. Exceedingly: (adj.) Extreme. Minuscule: (adj.) Minute.

Omatidea: Proboscis: (noun: plural). A long, flexible snout. Pollinator =*

Pollinate: (verb) to fertilize by transferring pollen from an anther to a stigma

of. Pheromone: Simultaneously: (adj.) Happening, existing, or done at the same

time. Spherical: (noun) 1. A three-dimensional surface all the points of which

are equidistant from a fixed point. (2. Ball.) Spiracle: Stimulate: (verb) stir

Thorax: Valve: (noun) 1. A membranous bodily structure that retards or prevents

the return flow of a fluid (2A. A mechanical device that regulates gas or liquid

flow by blocking and uncovering openings. 2B. The movable control element of

such a device. 2C. A device in a brass wing instrument that permits change in

pitch through rapid variation of the air column in a value. (noun) 1. A fair

equivalent or return for something. 2. Monetary or material worth.) MODULE

1:Butterfly Physiology Butterflies are insects, which belong to order

Lepidoptera. Their body divides into three segments: abdomen, head and thorax.

Usually adult butterflies contain antennae, compound eyes, six pair of legs and

a hard exoskeleton with their head, thorax and abdomen. Also micro sensory hairs

cover butterflies? outer bodies and scales cover the wings, which is rarely

seen. Now let?s get back to our body segments. The most important parts of the

head are: 1.antennae 2.eyes 3.proboscis Antennae: The antennae are used for two

important jobs: $ It?s used for balance in flight. Because butterflies have

fragile (breakable) wings, they can easily be worn out in daily use and when

they are attacked by other species, which attack their wings rather than their

body. When this happens, a butterfly can keep flying because of their antennae

fix its balance. $ They are also helpful for the sense of smell. Female

butterflies release kind of scents (pheromones) into the air which male

butterflies can detect even from 2 kilometers away. These scents help the

butterflies to find and mate each other. Eyes: Eyes are very big and spherical

organs in butterflies. Butterflies have compound eyes ?containing thousands of

hexagonal shaped omatidea.?* Each omatidea (or minuscule sensor) is located at

a small different angle from the others. They are directed in every direction so

they?re able to see every direction simultaneously. But because of this

advantage, nature gave the butterflies a big disadvantage: they have exceedingly

small brain and omni-vision, which enables them to focus: the clearest vision

they can see is blurred. Butterflies? eyes are sensitive to three basic

visions: 1.light 2.movement (motion) 3.and color Butterflies can separate night

from day, but cannot distinguish (ex.) red from purple. They don?t have enough

ability to specify who or what is in front of them. *From http://www.butterflyfarm.co.cr/farmer/bfly2.htm

Proboscis: Butterflies? feeding mechanism is a long double-barreled tube,

which is named as ?proboscis?. They feed with liquid substances, so their

mouths are shaped like a straw. People generally think of butterflies as feeding

from different kinds of nectars, but they also include mud, cow dung, water and

tree sap in their diets. Thorax: The thorax is the middle part of the body,

which connects the appendages (four wings and six legs). $ The butterflies?

ears are located in the thorax, also. They?re made of tight membranes, which

is similar to the human eardrum. Just under the membranes, there are hairs but

they cannot be seen from outside. The membrane vibrates when a sound wave hits

the membrane, which leads the membrane to touch the hairs. Then, the hairs sense

the vibration so they send a message to the brain indicating the location of the

sound. Abdomen: Abdomen is also a very important part of a butterfly?s body.

It includes the respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems. $ Respiratory

system: Because butterflies feed liquid substances, the only thing they excrete

is liquid also. The anus is located at the end of the abdomen and hidden

(concealed) well. $ Circulatory system: Circulatory system is very simple in

butterflies; ? The heart is a pump attached to a long tube that extends from

the abdomen to the head. The blood is pumped through this tube and released into

the tissues. Through a pressure gradient, the blood seeps through the tissue

back to the abdomen. There it is sucked back into the heart and pumped forward

again. There is no transportation of oxygen in the blood. Butterflies have

valves called spiracles along either side of their bodies. Some of these

spiracles, located mostly along the abdomen, allow oxygen to enter. Other

spiracles exhale carbon dioxide. In this way oxygen will enter the body

directly. Once inside, there is a network of tunnels similar to the network of

veins in the human body. Oxygen will travel directly to where it is needed and

pass into the tissue. ы

Butterflies have four wings. They have many kinds of wings in many different

colors, which even sometimes can make up a picture. Usually, the pair of wing on

the front is bigger than the second pair of wings, which are located at the back

of the butterfly. MODULE 2: Reproduction. The only thing that the butterflies

earn is that they reproduce.

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