The Magazine of The Sierra Club
The Wild World of Butterflies
Spanish Moon Moths are a protected species of silkmoth found in the mountainous pine forests of Spain, France, and Switzerland. Their distinctive elongated wing ends, called tails, aid survival by throwing off the echolocation signals of the brown bats that hunt them.
The striking, feathery antennae of this male silkmoth are actually finely-tuned pheremone detectors used to sense nearby females. Atlas moths such as these are the largest of the giant silkmoths and can sense one molecule of pheremone 20 miles away.
These tiger moths, found in Tanzania, roost on foliage in large gatherings. When a threat is perceived, they fly away en masse to confuse a potential predator.
The jewel-like blue hues on this swallowtail wing are not produced by pigments, but by the microscopic structure of tiny scales. Layers of chitin—the substance that makes up bug exoskeletons—interfere with light refraction, leading to the perception of color and the dazzling iridescence.
What appears to be a glaring tree snake is in fact a caterpillar with some well-placed eyespots. This swallowtail caterpillar from Mayalsia can play up the disguise further by inflating segments behind the head, which pushes out the false eyes to greater prominence.
The elaborately named Orange-spotted Tiger Clearwing has a fittingly elaborate gold pupa from which the winged adult will emerge. The pupa, also called a chrysalis, is the hardened body of the insect, under which enormous physiological changes occur.
Famed naturalist and evolutionist Alfred Russel Wallace, who pioneered the study of adaptive coloring, was awed by Asia's oakleaf butterflies. It's not difficult to see why with this Orange Oakleaf from Vietnam, whose underwings blend in perfectly with the forest floor.
This Chinese Moon Moth caterpillar goes incognito during its vulnerable development stage. Looking just like the conifer needles on which it feeds, the caterpillar is almost indistinguishable from a distance to both man and predator.
Butterflies and moths alighting on flowers in search of nectar is a common sight, but many species feed on fruit instead. Hewitson's Pink Forester uses its proboscis—essentially a straw-like tongue—to slurp juices from a fallen fig in the Republic of the Congo. Butterflies such as Foresters have a keen sense of smell, while their nectar-drinking cousins rely more on sight.
Photographs by Thomas Marent
We may spot them as they flutter by, but when was the last time you stopped to truly appreciate a butterfly or moth?
Delicate as they may seem, the insect order of Lepidoptera has been around for 190 million years, living on every continent except Antarctica, in habitats both harsh and lush. The world would be a wildly different place without them. The flowering plants that dominate the world’s ecosystems (and produce the world’s food) co-evolved with lepidopterans and continue to rely on them for pollination.
Zoologist Ronald Orenstein and photographer Thomas Marent’s new book, Butterflies, explores the lives of these ephemeral insects while showcasing their beauty. The book details the life stages of moths and butterflies from caterpillar to mating adult, with sections to highlight species in each major family. While admiring the diversity of forms and colors in the photographs, you can learn about the remarkable adaptations of camouflage and mimicry, feeding, migration, and social structure that have allowed lepidopterans to thrive since the Jurassic.
Even after centuries of study, these insects continue to intrigue humans, whether it be biologists who research their critical role in ecosystems, or Air Force engineers hoping to model their flight patterns. Butterflies gives us an in-depth overview of why we should give the bugs a closer look, and why conserving them in the face of threats like pesticides and climate change is essential.
Pick up Butterflies and see for yourself the giant influence these small creatures have on the planet.
