What is an Insect?

a small arthropod animal that has six legs and

& Moths
The Caterpillar
•A caterpillar is the larval stage of a moth or butterfly.

•The life span of a caterpillar is from 2 to 4 weeks.

•Caterpillars have 8 pairs of legs. The first three pairs

Head

Thorax Legs

Wings

Abdomen
Life Cycle of a
Butterfly
Butterflies
The Butterfly
• are insects that have large, often
brightly colored wings
• belonging to an order or group
called Lepidoptera.
• The word "Lepidoptera" means
"scaly wings" in Greek.
 Butterfly activities
Feeding - adult butterflies are able to feed only on various liquids. They drink through a tube-like tongue called a proboscis.  It uncoils to sip liquid
food, and then coils up again into a spiral when the butterfly is not feeding. Most butterflies prefer flower nectar, but others may feed on the liquids
found in rotting fruit, in ooze from trees, and in animal dung. Butterflies prefer to feed in sunny areas protected from wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KfBoQXNokI
Puddling - When butterflies get too hot, they may head for shade or for cool areas like puddles. Some species will gather at shallow mud puddles
or wet sandy areas, sipping the mineral-rich water. Generally, more males than females puddle, and it is believed that the salts and nutrients in the
puddles are needed for successful mating.

Basking - Butterflies bask with their wings spread out in order to soak up the sun's heat.

Patrolling and perching - There are two methods that a male butterfly might use in order to search for a female mate. It might patrol or fly over a
particular area where other butterflies are active. If it sees a possible mate, it will fly in for a closer look. Or, instead, it might perch on a tall plant in
an area where females may be present. If it spots a likely mate, it will swoop in to investigate. In either case, if he finds a suitable female he will
begin the mating ritual. If he finds another male instead, a fierce fight may ensue.

Mating - A male butterfly has several methods of determining whether he has found a female of his own species. One way is by sight. The male will
look for butterflies with wings that are the correct color and pattern. When a male sights a potential mate it will fly closer, often behind or above the
female. Once closer, the male will release special chemicals, called pheromones, while it flutters its wings a bit more than usual. The male may also
do a special "courtship dance" to attract the female. These "dances" consist of flight patterns that are peculiar to that species of butterfly. If the
female is interested she may join the male's dance. They will then mate by joining together end to end at their abdomens. During the mating process,
when their bodies are joined, the male passes sperm to the female. As the eggs later pass through the female's egg-laying tube, they are fertilized by
the sperm. The male butterfly often dies soon after mating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLBJFAHJ5gE
 Butterfly activities continuation…
Egg-laying - After mating with a male, the female butterfly must go in search of a plant on which to lay her eggs. Because the caterpillars that will
hatch from her eggs will be very particular about what they eat, she must be very particular in choosing a plant. She can recognize the right plant
species by its leaf color and shape. Just to be sure, however, she may beat on the leaf with her feet. This scratches the leaf surface, causing a
characteristic plant odor to be released. Once she is sure she has found the correct plant species, she will go about the business of egg-laying. While
laying her eggs, they are fertilized with the sperm that has been stored in her body since mating. Some butterflies lay a single egg, while others may
lay their eggs in clusters. A sticky substance produced by the female enables the eggs to stick wherever she lays them, either on the underside of a
leaf or on a stem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWZW9Oave4Y

Hibernating - Butterflies are cold-blooded and cannot withstand winter conditions in an active state. Butterflies may survive cold weather by
hibernating in protected locations. They may use the peeling bark of trees, perennial plants, logs or old fences as their overwintering sites. They may
hibernate at any stage (egg, larval, pupal or adult) but generally each species is dormant in only one stage.

Migrating - Another way that butterflies can escape cold weather is by migrating to a warmer region. Some migrating butterflies, such as the
painted lady and cabbage butterfly, fly only a few hundred miles, while others, such as the monarch, travel thousands of miles.

Camouflage - Butterflies and caterpillars are preyed upon by birds, spiders, lizards and various other animals. Largely defenseless against many of
these hungry predators, Lepidoptera have developed a number of passive ways to protect themselves. One way is by making themselves
inconspicuous through the use of camouflage. The coloration and pattern of a butterfly's wings may enable it to blend into its surrounding. Some
may look like dead leaves on a twig when they are at rest with their wings closed. The under-wing markings of the comma and question mark
butterflies help them to go unnoticed when hibernating in leaf litter.
 Kinds of Butterflies in the Philippines
1 | Blue Glassy Tiger - The blue glassy tiger is identified by the blue markings on its forewing and glassy white on its hindwing, hence the common
name.  The upper surface of its wings is colored black while the underside is brown.  The wingspan can reach approximately three inches.

2 | Blue Pansy Butterfly - The appearance of male varies from the female species of this butterfly.  In male, more than half of its forewing
from base is velvety black to dark brown with two orange and two blue bars in the cell.  The hindwing is blue to velvety black towards the base. 
Both forewing and hindwing of male have two post-discal eye-spots.  Females have similar post-discal eye-spots however the basal half of the
forewings and hindwings are brown. 
 Kinds of Butterflies in the Philippines
3 | Common Mapwing - The common mapwing is identified by the chocolate brown lines running on a white base of its wings.  The pattern resembles the longitude and
latitude lines on maps hence the common name.  The wings measure between 58-70 mm and the inner corners of both the forewings and hindwings show an orange patch.

4 | Emerald Swallowtail - is identified by the broad bright emerald green metallic bands at the upper surface of its wings where it got its common
name from.  The background color of the upper surface of the wings is dark greenish to black with a powder of green scales.  The underside of this
butterfly looks far different from the upper as it is black and gray with blue, orange, and white spots.  This species with a wingspan of around 3 to
4 inches has a swift flight
 Kinds of Butterflies in the Philippines
5 | Golden-tailed hairstreak - Also called orpheus imperial, the golden-tailed hairstreak is a small-sized butterfly with beautiful golden
yellow upper surface and white underwings. 

6 | Green Dragontail - The green dragontail is a small butterfly with a wingspan of around 1.5 to 2 inches.  Its color scheme is black and white
and the forewing has a triangular glass-like or transparent patch with black borders.  It also has 6 to 8 thin black bands along the veins and a light
green band across the pre-disceral area.  While sexes are alike, females have a dull appearance while males do not have the sex mark.  
 Kinds of Butterflies in the Philippines
7 | Lacewing - Lacewing butterfly has a reddish and black color scheme. 

8 | Orange Emigrant - Orange emigrant or orange migrant, has white forewings with black edges while the hindwings are cadmium-yellow with
black spots on the margins.  Females are the same but with more black spots on the forewing.  Its wingspan is around 2 inches
 Kinds of Butterflies in the Philippines
9 | Painted Jezebel - The painted jezebel is a medium-sized butterfly with black, white, yellow, and red color scheme.  The forewing is black and
white while the hindwing is black and yellow with 4 to 6 red spots.  

10 | Scarlet Mormon - Also referred to as red mormon, this species of butterfly is a black butterfly with vibrant red marking, where it got its
common name from.  The wingspan is about 120 to 140 mm.