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Written by the children of Clonown  N.S., Athlone, Co. Roscommon.  [ Quiz ]

Butterflies have four wings. They have six legs and they have hooks on their feet for holding on tightly.

They feel and smell and balance with their feelers or antennae.

They can taste with their feet.

They drink nectar through a long tube called a proboscis. This tube is curled up when the butterfly is not feeding.

The butterfly lays her eggs on a particular plantfood  which the caterpillars will feed on.

The eggs quickly change into caterpillars.

Caterpillars cannot see very well.

They have 12 tiny eyes on their heads.

The eyes are to small for us to see.

They have 8 pairs of legs.

The front 3 pairs hold on to the food.

The back 5 pairs clasp a stalk and are called claspers.

The caterpillar breathes through air holes on the side of its body.

There is a air hole in the centre of every spot.  

 
The caterpillars eat and eat non-stop.

They have biting jaws and eat leaves

They outgrow their skin and burst out of it.

Another looser skin has grown underneath.

They start to eat again and outgrow their skin again.

This is called moulting

They can moult four times.

When fully grown the caterpillar stops feeding and turns into a pupa or crysailis.

 In this stage the caterpillar is changed into a butterfly.

The crysalis is often coloured to blend in with its surroundings, for protection.

When the adult is ready it bursts through the pupa skin.

The wings are small and crumpled at first but blood is pumped into the veins and

The wings soon expand and harden and the insect is ready to fly away.