These were taken a while back, but I came across them again recently.
They live mostly in moist, low woodlands, river valleys and swamps where pawpaw trees grow.
They eat only the leaves of native pawpaw trees (Asimina species). Adult butterflies however, sip nectar from open flowers like milkweed, verbena and zinnias, and frequently gather on damp soil or mud puddles to drink water and minerals.
Eating pawpaw leaves makes the caterpillars and adult butterflies unpalatable or poisonous to predators like birds and spiders. Caterpillars have a special orange, forked neck gland called an osmeterium that pops out to release a foul odor when frightened. Evolution has given it lots of protection.
Adults from later broods can live up to six months, which is unusually long for a butterfly.
Butterflies and their ancestors have been on earth for at least 200 to 300 million years. The evolutionary timeline of the Lepidoptera order (which includes both moths and butterflies) reveals how these creatures adapted over millions of years:
300 Million Years Ago (Moth Ancestors): the earliest primitive ancestors of moths first emerged. They were tiny, nocturnal, and lived in ancient, humid forests.
200 to 236 Million Years Ago (First Wing Scales): fossilized wing scales found in the ancient rock and prehistoric dung place early moth and butterfly lineages firmly in the Triassic and Jurassic periods. They flew alongside early dinosaurs.
100 Million Years Ago (True Butterflies): modern day-flying butterflies officially split from nocturnal moths during the Cretaceous period. Recent genetics studies show they originated in North and Central America before spreading globally.
I found the above information online, thanks to Google's search engine.
Thanks for looking and
I hope your day is a great one.
It’s always fascinating to see what this caterpillar looks like and how it develops into a butterfly. A beautiful species. Thanks for sharing! hugs Elke
ReplyDeleteStunning transformation!
ReplyDeleteThe life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly!
ReplyDeleteThis transformation has always fascinated me.
In my area, back in the day, they used to raise caterpillars that spun cocoons to produce silk. They fed exclusively on mulberry leaves.
Thank you, Denise, for this information!!🧡
The neck gland is news to me! And your butterfly photo is perfect. I also did not know there was a time when the butterflies split from moths.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Such a beautiful butterfly. I find it interesting how the caterpillars eat the pawpaw leaves and it makes them unpalatable to predators.
ReplyDeleteWhat a glorious adult it becomes.
ReplyDeleteEating pawpaw leaves makes the caterpillars and adult butterflies unpalatable or poisonous to predators like birds and spiders.... How interesting! Every species has their unique anti-predator system.
ReplyDelete