Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Black Swallowtail Cats, 0 by debnes_dfw_tx

debnes_dfw_tx wrote:
WTG Becky!!

Here are a few of them Janet...not all, but the most common terms in simple english:

Johnson County Extension
The terminology used by entomologists can be very confusing. Here are some terms related to butterflies and moths, along with plain English definitions.

CHRYSALIS
The butterfly becomes a chrysalis (also known as a pupa) when the caterpillar sheds its skin for the last time. It no longer resembles a caterpillar, but if you look closely, you can see the outline of the wing veins, abdomen, and sometimes even the proboscis and antennae. Butterflies do not spin cocoons and are sometimes referred to as a naked pupa.

COCOON
Protective covering spun by many moths and some skippers to enclose the pupa (chrysalis). Cocoons may have leaves, and other plant material incorporated into them and may be attached to the food plant. Some moths spin cocoons, but not all.

INSTAR
Term used to describe caterpillar growth beginning when the egg hatches and each time the caterpillar sheds its skin. A caterpillar that has just hatched and not yet shed its skin is a first instar caterpillar.

LARVA
Caterpiller stage of butterfly and moth development. Plural is larvae.
All growth takes place in this stage.

METAMORPHOSIS
The process of growth and change that takes place from the egg, larva, and pupa stages, to the adult stage. Lepidoptera are said to undergo "complete" metamorphosis because they go through four distinct stages of growth rather than three that some other insects experience.

MIMIC
Looking like another animal or object to gain protection from predators, parasites, etc. For example, the perfectly edible Viceroy butterfly gains protection from birds by mimicking the Monarch, which most birds avoid because of its toxicity.

MOLT
The shedding of old, smaller skin by a caterpillar which allows it to increase in size with the new larger skin.

PHEROMONE
A chemical released by some species as a form of communication. Those referred to in my notebook are used to attract a mate.

PROBOSCIS
A tube-like tongue used to siphon nectar, and other liquids. When not in use, the proboscis is coiled up under the head.

PROLEGS
Fleshy, suction cup-like appendages located on the abdomen and rear-end of the caterpillar which are used to cling to surfaces and aid in their movement.

PUPA
Another name for chrysalis - it is the third stage in a butterfly's or moth's life cycle after egg and larva (caterpiller). Pupae (plural of pupa) of some moth and skipper species are enclosed in a cocoon.


>> And the cycle begins again.....