Amazing world of butterflies

Butterflies loved us for their beauty, weakness, and mystery surrounding its life. For an immortal time, the beauty of butterflies not only stimulated poetry and art but also captured the interest of even young children.

It is clear that even our ancestors were affected by their conduct. When they saw thousands of butterflies migrating to "Sripada" (a holy mountain the Buddhists believe the Buddha's footprint was stamped on) during the pilgrimage, they believed that butterflies migrated in honor of the Buddha. They, therefore, came to the point of naming Sri Lanka's most sacred mountain, Sripada, as "Samala kanda".

At present, although these migrations are still occurring in some parts of Sri Lanka, they have not been seen in many areas, due to human intervention in the environment. It is therefore sad to note that for the most part of the new generation, we have never seen such a spectacular display. Still, there is hope, as an ecologist and others interested in the subject have learned that by providing the needed land, we can once again make this migratory butterfly migration.

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of archeology that has been in the world for more than 30 million years. In classifying butterflies, some scientists have previously described butterflies as belonging only to the family of eleven (11) families, after which they transformed into two (2) large families and five (5) families. Currently, many scientists have divided butterflies into three (3) large families and five (5) families. Of course:

1. True butterflies - (Large family, Papilionoidea)

2.Skippers- (Superfamily, Hesperioidea)

3. Butterflies Butterfly- (Superfamily, Hedyloidea)

And within these large families, 05 butterfly families, are listed as follows

(1) Papilionidae - Described as Swallowtails, Apollo wing, and Bird butterflies

(2) White and yellow Pieridae-K butterflies

(3) Lycaenidae - Described as, with wings of Gossamer, Blues, Copper, Hairdreaks and harvesters (they eat harmful insects)

(4) Riodinidae-Contains metal fins with wings. They are also called 'iron marks'

(5) Nymphalidae - Brush butterflies.

It should be noted that butterflies are listed under the sub-order Rhopalocera (club-antenna) and Moths, under the sub-order Heterocera (antenna varied). Both of these subcategories are under the order Lepidoptera. It is estimated that there are 12000-24000 Butterfly species and about 120,000-150,000 species of moths that live on this planet. According to 2007, the Red List of IUCN, there are 243 species of butterflies in Sri Lanka, of which 20 are endemic.

When reading butterflies, it is important to know clearly, the difference between butterflies and moths, as there are many numbers of moths compared to butterflies that way, there may be confusion in identifying them. The main differences between the butterfly and the moth are as follows:

Butterflies

1. The end of the antenna is a cone. However, skipper butterflies have the shape of a hockey stick at the end of their horns

2. Wings are usually kept together at rest

3. Have long, thin bodies

4. They usually work during the day, in the evening and in the early morning

5. The caterpillar has a little soap or hair. They are nontoxic.

Moths

1. Some antennas are long and pointed at the end; most antennas have hair, like a bird's feather.

2. It usually keeps the wings outstretched at rest.

3. Have flat or circular bodies

4. Frequency is effective at night (Light)

5. The caterpillar has a lot of soap or hair. They are poisonous

The butterfly's life cycle begins with laying an egg or many eggs in Host Plant, switching to Caterpillar and then Pupa, and eventually emerging as an adult butterfly. The plane then seeks out flowering Nectar plants, drinks its nectar, and is fully prepared for reproduction.

Now, the question arises, what are the catch plants and Nectar plants? Catching plants are plants that are needed to maintain their diversity. It is a plant that gives you the first food. Usually, all species of butterflies have their own catch plants or several plants. However, when we destroy trapped plants selected by butterflies certain species of butterflies are removed from the surface of the earth.

Soup plants are the plants where butterflies go to pick up their nectar. However, it should be noted that not all butterflies are dependent on nectar for survival. Their diet consists of water from fallen fruit, tree milk or juice extracted from tree beans, dead animal juices, and frozen meat, and water from dead tree trunks.

It is also interesting that although butterflies have certain catch plants when the female points to her scent when looking for nectar, they can go to any plant with nectar-bearing flowers. The only problem is that those butterflies with a short proboscis, cannot absorb nectar from large flowers and will have to be satisfied with small nectar flowers.