Butterflies possess some of the most striking color displays found in nature – that’s why we are so attracted to their beauty! Butterfly wings are covered in thousands of microscopic scales that are split into two to three layers. When light passes through a transparent, multilayered surface and is reflected more than once, the multiple reflections intensify the colors. This gives butterflies their trademark glittery beauty. Want to learn more about these breathtaking creatures? Keep reading! We’ve got a few cool facts lined up for you.

They Only Live for a Few Weeks

Once it emerges from its chrysalis as an adult, a butterfly has only two to four short weeks to live, in most cases. During that time, it focuses all its energy on two tasks: eating and mating. Some of the smallest butterflies, the blues, may only survive a few days. However, butterflies that overwinter as adults, like monarchs and mourning cloaks, can live as long as nine months. 

Butterflies Taste With Their Feet

Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet to help them find their host plants and locate food. A female butterfly lands on different plants, drumming the leaves with her feet until the plant releases its juices. Spines on the back of her legs have chemoreceptors that detect the right match of plant chemicals. When she identifies the right plant, she lays her eggs. A butterfly of any biological sex will also step on its food, using organs that sense dissolved sugars to taste food sources like fermenting fruit.

They Can’t Fly if They’re Cold

Butterflies need an ideal body temperature of about 85 degrees Fahrenheit to fly. Since they’re cold-blooded animals, they can’t regulate their own body temperatures. As a result, the surrounding air temperature has a big impact on their ability to function. If the air temperature falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, butterflies are rendered immobile—unable to flee from predators or feed. When air temperatures range between 82- and 100-degrees Fahrenheit, butterflies can fly with ease. Cooler days require a butterfly to warm up its flight muscles, either by shivering or basking in the sun.

Butterfly Wings Are Transparent

How can that be? We know butterflies as perhaps the most colorful, vibrant insects around! Well, a butterfly’s wings are covered by thousands of tiny scales, and these scales reflect light in different colors. But underneath all of those scales, a butterfly wing is actually formed by layers of chitin – the same protein that makes up an insect’s exoskeleton. These layers are so thin you can see right through them. As a butterfly ages, scales fall off the wings, leaving spots of transparency where the chitin layer is exposed.