Funday Times

The Butterflies of Sri Lanka
Butterflies belong to the great order of insects called Lepidoptera; that is insects whose wings are covered with scales. The number of known species of butterflies throughout Sri Lanka is around 243. It has been discovered that about 101 butterfly species are endangered and 42 species are endemic.

Life cycle of the butterfly has four distinct stages- egg, larva, pupa and adult. The transformation that takes place from the first stage to the last is known as complete metamorphosis.

The function of an adult butterfly is to mate and reproduce. The body of an adult butterfly is divided into three distinctive parts, head, thorax and abdomen. There are two pairs of wings, which are membranous and supported by veins. The wings bear diverse patterns covered with scales and are useful in the identification of different butterfly species.

The larger butterflies may have a life span, of 15 to 20 days and the smaller less than that.

Butterflies can feed only on liquid diets. They feed on decaying fruits and vegetable matter, sap from trees, mammal and bird droppings and dead animals. Female butterflies are very good botanists. Their identification of plants is based on both visual clues

as well as chemical clues.

The most common natural enemies of butterflies are lizards, birds, spiders and predatory insects.

The butterfly is one of the important components of the food chain of bird, reptiles, spiders and predatory insects.

They are also good indicators of environmental changes as they are sensitive and are directly affected by changes in natural habitats, atmospheric temperature and weather conditions. Their life history being very short, butterflies are a good subject for the study of genetics.

They are the most beautiful and colorful creatures on the earth.

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