Butterfly - A Valuable Insect to Bug The Garden © 2006

Imagine, if you can, a world without butterflies. It would be pretty drab place, indeed. Butterflies are magnificent as they flit and dart among the flowers, their colorful patterns a perfect foil for the lovely flowers.

These colorful, entertaining creatures are part of an adaptable order of insects called Lepidoptera. There are over 18,500 species of butterflies in the world, the vast majority in the warm, sunny tropics. North America is home to about 750 species. The butterfly is found on every continent except Antarctica. Even frigid Greenland has around six species calling it home.

The butterfly and moths are very closely related insects. The main differences between the two are that moths are nocturnal and drab colored. Their wings fold down horizontally near their bodies and their antennae are "fuzzy". They prefer forested habitats while the butterfly frequents sunny, open fields. The butterfly is usually active during the daylight hours. Their wings fold vertically above their bodies and their antennae are thin, threadlike organs

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