The lifespan of butterflies

The belief that adult butterflies live for only one day is false. Adult lifespan varies greatly between species and environmental conditions, ranging from a few weeks to several months.

The Common Brimstone emerges as an adult in summer, enters adult diapause within sheltered vegetation during winter and takes flight again in spring. As a result, its adult life can approach a full year.

Migrating butterflies

The annual migration cycle of the Painted Lady between Africa and Europe can extend across approximately 15,000 kilometres. No single butterfly completes the entire journey; successive generations inherit different stages of the migration route.

Painted Ladies can even cross oceans. A group travelling from West Africa to South America was shown to have crossed at least 4,200 kilometres of the Atlantic in approximately five to eight days, aided by favourable winds.

Butterflies and ants

The survival of some butterflies depends not only on the presence of the correct larval host plants, but also on suitable ant communities living in the same habitat.

Large Blue caterpillars initially feed on the flowers of thyme and marjoram species. During their final larval stage, they descend to the ground and use chemical mimicry to induce Myrmica worker ants to carry them into the nest.

Inside the colony, the caterpillar lives as an obligate predatory social parasite, feeding on ant eggs and larvae, overwintering underground and pupating within the nest. Large Blue caterpillars and pupae can also produce acoustic signals resembling those of queen ants.