A concerned mother plans for her children’s future! She lays her eggs diligently. Depending on the species she may lay them singularly or in a group. She may lay them on the underside of a leaf or in a crevasse. Most always she lays them on the most tender leaves. She may use the “simple eye” on her abdomen to lay on the tip of a twisted tendril.
A female butterfly is not a realtor, but she might as well be. Location is everything to her! Location, location, an investment in her species future…
… A minute spec of life is set upon a leaf, out crawls a miracle, a Butterfly to be – K. DAngelo
One of the questions we hear most often is… “Are skippers butterflies or moths?”
Yes, skippers are butterflies!
*A skipper is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae (superfamily Hesperioidea), named after their quick, darting flight habits. There are more than 3500 recognized species of skippers and they occur worldwide.
*Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Photos by Dave Eve
Just the size of a dash or a comma, this tiny Giant Swallowtail enters the world by eating its way out of it’s egg. Some caterpillars will continue to munch on their empty shell, which makes for a nutritious first meal!
With all major body parts intact from the onset, this miniature muncher is ready and able to do what it does best. Eat! A caterpillar is equipped with all it needs to be the “Voracious Eating Machine” that Mother Nature intended.
It is thought that caterpillars consume more vegetation than all other insects combined. In fact, a typical caterpillar gains over 3,000 times i’ts body weight. In human terms this would be like a 10 lb. baby becoming a 3,000 lb. adult. Read more about caterpillars, eggs, chrysalises and butterflies by entering the “Butterfly Dimension” on the Obsession With Butterflies web site.
