Do all insects have six legs?
Insects include many different types of creatures, such as ants, bees, beetles, butterflies, cockroaches, crickets, dragonflies, fleas, grasshoppers, silverfish, termites, wasps, and more.
The 4-stage life cycle of an insect is egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Some insects only have a 3-stage life cycle: egg, larva, and adult.
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The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Aglais urticae) is a medium-sized insect in the Nymphadidae family of Eurasian butterflies.
The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly is mainly reddish-orange wih black and yellow markings on its forewings (front wings) and a ring of blue spots around the edge of its wings.
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The Silk Moth (Bombyx mori) is an insect in the Bombycidae family of silk moths.
The Silk Moth has a heavy, bristly body and small wings. It is fair to light brown with thin dark bands across its body. Its wings are cream-coloured. It is not capable of sustained flight – it is only airborne for a short time.
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The European Mallow Skipper Butterfly (Carcharodus alceae alceae) is an insect in the Hesperiidae family of skippers.
The European Mallow Skipper has pinkish-brown forewings (front wngs) with brown markings. Its hindwings (back wings) are brown to grey-brown. The male does not have hair tufts on the underside of its forewings. It has a brown body, legs, and antennae.
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What is a group of caterpillars called?
A group of caterpillars is called an army of caterpillars.
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What is an instar?
An instar is the development stage of an insect between each stage of moulting, or shedding its skin.
For example, each stage from egg to larvae (grub) to pupa (chrysalis or cocoon) to an adult insect, as an insect undergoes metamorphosis, is called an instar.
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The Monarch Butterfly (Danus plexippus) is an insect in the Nymphalidae family of milkweed butterfies. It is also known as the Milkweed Butterfly, Common Tiger Butterfly, Wanderer Butterfly, and the Black-Veined Brown Butterfly.
The Monarch Butterfly has black, orange, and white wings. The undersides of its wings are orange-brown. It has black veins and small white spots in the margins at the edge of its wings. The male has a black spot on each hind (back) wing. Its body and its six legs are black.
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What is a caterpillar?
A caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly or moth.A caterpillar pupates – it makes a chrysalis or a cocoon, which is a casing. Inside the casing, the caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis (changes), and it emerges as an adult butterfly.
A caterpillar has a soft body without an internal skeleton, so it is an invertebrate.
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The Amazon Butterfly (Coenophlebia archidona) is an insect in the Nymphalidae family of butterflies.
The Amazon Butterfly has orange-brown wings with black-brown tips on the fore (front) wings. It looks like a leaf, so it is well-camouflaged. The front wings have a hook shape.
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The Montrouzier’s Ulysses Butterfly (Papilio montrouzieri) is a large insect in the family of swallowtail butterflies.
The Montrouzier’s Ulysses Butterfly has iridescent electric blue wings with brown-black edges. It has forked hind (back) wings. Its underside is brown-black. The female has crescent-shaped blue markings on her hind wings. Its body is brown-black with long antennae.
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The Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius apollo) is a large insect. It is also referred to as the Mountain Apollo Butterfly.
The Apollo Butterfly has white wings with five large black eyespots on its forewing and two bright red or orang eyespots on its hindwing. Its wings have a shiny appearance with slightly transparent edges.
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The Hebe Tiger Moth (Arctia festiva) is an insect in the Erebidae family of moths. It is also known as the English Beer Moth.
The Hebe Tiger Moth has pale yellow forewings (front wings) with black markings. Its hindwings (back wings) are orange with black markings. It has a wide black and orange body, with a black tail. Its antennae are short.
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The Orange-Barred Sulfur Butterfly (Phoebis philiea) is an insect.
The Orange-Barred Sulfur Butterfly has lemon-yellow wings with an orange smudge on its forewings (front wings) and orange edges on its hindwings (back wings). Its body is blackish with a paler rear end.
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The Common Tiger Butterfly (Danaus genutia) is an insect in the Nymphalidae family and Danainae group of brush-footed butterflies called the crows and tigers. It is also known as the Striped Tiger Butterfly.
The Common Tiger Butterfly is similar to the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The Common Tiger Butterfly has tawny-brown wings with veins marked with broad black bands. The male has a pouch on the hindwing. Its wings have black margins with two rows of white spots. The undersides of its wings are similar to the uppersides, but paler.
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The Common Sergeant Butterfly (Athyma perius) is a medium-sized insect in the Nymphalidae family.
The male Common Sergeant Butterfly has black wings with white markings. The undersides of its wings are yellow with white markings edged with black. Its thorax is black with bluish spots, and its abdomen is brown with white bands. Its antennae are long. The female is blackish-brown with a double row of minute black dots on her wings.
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The Silver Butterfly (Salamis anacardii duprei) is a medium-sized insect in the Nymphalidae family of white butterflies. It is also known as the Clouded Mother-of-Pearl Butterfly.
The Silver Butterfly has a silvery iridescent sheen with brown edgings and dots on its forewings and hindwings. Its body is brown and it has long antennae.
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The Common Brimstone Butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) is a medium-sized insect in the Pieridae family – white, yellow, and orange butterflies.
The male and female Common Brimstone Butterfly look different. The male has yellow wings with iridescence. The female has greenish-white wings with no iridescence. It has one small orange-brown spot on each of its four wings. Its body is dark-brown. It has medium-sized antennae.
The Grecian Shoemaker Butterfly (Catonephele numilia) is a small insect in the Nymphalidae family of butterflies. It is also known as the Blue-Frosted Banner or the Stoplight Catone.
The male Grecian Shoemaker Butterfly is black with six orange dots on its wings. The female looks very different. She is blue-black with a light-yellow band across the centre of her forewings (front wings).
The Small Postman (Heliconius erato) is a small butterfly. It is an insect, called a heliconid. It is also known as the Red Postman or the Crimson-Patched Longwing.
The Small Postman has black wings with red-orange patches and white patches on its forewings (front wings) and red-orange stripes on its hindwings (back wings). It has long antennae and a black body.
The Peruvian 88 Butterfly (Diaethria clymena peruviana) is a small insect in the Callicore tribe of the Nymphalidae family.
The Peruvian 88 Butterfly is black on its upperside with a diagonal band of metallic blue or green. The underside of its forewings (front wings) is white, black and reddish-orange-brown, and the underside of its hindwings (back wings) is black and white with a pattern that looks like the number 88.