The butterflies, as the great majority of insects,
undergo the "metamorphosis",
that is the trnsformation from larva into adult.
In butterflies the larval state is called caterpillar.
The caterpillar emerges from the egg and grows by
performing 4 or 5 skin changes (moult) depending
on the species and the sex.. After ripening the
caterpillar settles on a support by means of silk
threads or rescues or weaves a silk knot and is
transformed into a chrysalid. The chrysalid is practically
immobilized since itcannot move away from the site
where it is formed; after about two weeks it is
opened by the push of the butterfly.The life of
the "butterfly" is generally
pretty short, ranges from a few days to one or two
weeks and only in a few cases it can be as long
as one month.There are some exceptions, which include
the great moths of the Saturnidae family, that have
a short life and do not feed themselves: actually,
they have lost their mouth due to atrophy. On the
other hand,other species, such as the Heliconidae,
of relatively small size, can live for several months
in fairly large groups.
SOME EXAMPLES OF LONG-LIVING AND
SHORT-LIVED BUTTERFLIES
The most long-living European butterfly,
the Cedronelle - Gonepteryx ssp. emerges from
the cocoon at the end of Summer, spends the
Winter time in the form of butterfly and flies
around until the next Summer reaching a life
span longer than one year.
Inachisio and Vanessa antiopa.
These spend the Winter time as butterflies
and can live for more than 8 months.
Saturnia of the pear-tree - Saturnia
pyri. It is the largest European moth,
however it has a very short life, since
it can live for only a few days. The
neotropical Heliconidae, such as the
Heliconius charitonius, live for several
months since they can feed with pollen
in addition to the nectar from flowers.
They can live in large groups.
