Fun Facts About Butterflies

How Did The Butterfly Get Its Name?
Well, these beautiful insects do fly, but they aren’t made of butter and they certainly don’t eat or churn butter either! Many of them do, however, bear the color of butter and many think that their name is derived from the original pre-8th century word buturfliog (butere being butter and fleoge being fly).

There are still others that believe that the name butterfly comes from butterflies flying into kitchen windows and helping themselves to milk and butter left on the counter! The German word for butterfly tells it all by its name, milchdieb, which means milk thief.

If they don’t eat milk and butter, what do butterflies eat?

How Many Kinds Of Butterflies Are There?
There are approximately 28,000 different types of butterfly species worldwide, most of which can be found in the tropics. Read more about the different types of butterflies.

How Do Butterflies Communicate?
Although some species of butterfly communicate with each other using sound, such as making noises with their wings, most use chemical signals. The male butterfly will produce pheromones, which are chemicals that trigger a welcoming behavioral response between the same species.