Issue link: https://wardsworld.wardsci.com/i/1454439
Page 3 Emerging as butterflies: In about one more week, the butterflies will emerge, and after a short period of pumping up their wings, will be ready to fly! During this time, the butterflies may excrete a red-colored liquid called meconium. This is the normal metabolic waste product from the development process. 1. Feed the butterflies by wetting a piece of cotton or paper towel in a solution of 5 tablespoons of sugar mixed with 1 cup of water (20% solution). Place the saturated piece of cotton in a shallow dish on the floor of the cage. Although brown sugar is preferred, white sugar can also be used. Honey is not recommended for feeding, as it may clog their mouth tubes. If desired, you can add a small amount of bee pollen to the sugar water; bee pollen is not necessary, but it does provide the adult butterflies with amino acids. Butterflies also like slices of fresh fruit such as oranges. 2. Mist the adult butterflies a few times a day. The water prevents their wings from drying out and aids digestion. 3. Butterflies may be kept in their cage for the entirety of their 2 to 4 week adult life span. Information • Method of Reproduction: Painted Lady butterflies undergo sexual reproduction. Once a male finds a receptive female, they attach at their back ends, and the male deposits sperm. Later the female will lay up to a few hundred tiny pale blue-green eggs on leaves of their chosen host plant. • Determining sex: It is fairly difficult to sex Painted Lady Butterflies, although the abdomen of the male is usually smaller than that of a female. Life Cycle Painted Lady Butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis. They begin their life as a tiny blue-green egg, no larger than the head of a pin. After about 3 – 5 days a grayish larva (also called a caterpillar) will emerge from the egg, and then begin feeding. Over a period of about 2 – 3 weeks the larvae will grow to about 1½" long. The larvae will usually undergo five molts (the process of shedding the old exoskeleton while expanding and hardening the new one underneath). In the final molt, a pale brown chrysalis (also called a pupa) is formed. The chrysalis displays little movement and functions like a shell to protect the organism for about 10 days as it develops into the mature butterfly. Emergence from the chrysalis is similar to the hatching of an egg, where the butterfly struggles to emerge through a crack in the chrysalis. At first, its wings are folded and crumpled, but soon the butterfly begins pumping up its wings. This forces fluid from its abdomen into its veins, helping its wings inflate to the proper size (about 2½" wide) and shape. After a couple hours, the butterfly is ready to begin flying. In captivity the adult butterflies can usually live for about 2 – 4 weeks. Wild Habitat • The Painted Lady butterfly is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. It is native to North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In North America, the Painted Lady can be found in the majority of U.S. states as well as Canada, and as far north as the Arctic Circle. During the winter months, Painted Ladies become concentrated in the southwestern region of the continent. In early spring, they begin to re-colonize the northern and eastern regions. Their natural habitat is bright, open grasslands, woodlands, and deserts. • The Painted Lady larvae feed on many different types of host plant families such as Asteraceae/Compositae (includes Asters, thistles), Urticaceae (nettles), and Malvaceae (mallows and hollyhocks). Adult butterflies consume nectar from an even larger variety of flowering plants.