Fun Trivia » Animals » Insects » Butterflies and Moths

The monarch is one of the world's most recognised butterflies, certainly in North America. This is due to its distinctive orange, black and white patterned wings. The top of the wings are a beautiful deep orange and are threaded with black veins. The margins of the wings are also laced with black. Also very recognisable are the two series of white spots along the edges of the wings.

Besides giving the insect a striking appearance, this colouring also proves to be very useful to the butterfly. It serves as a warning to predators that the insect is poisonous. This warning through colouration is known as aposematism.
Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Bright red head with a gold coloured crown, Blue and black chequered pattern on the wings, Bright green legs

The luna moth is pale green, the color that luminous numbers on old clocks used to be, with reddish eyespots and long hind-wing tails. The size is nowhere near Australian and South American moths, where wingspans can reach 8" to 10", but it's in the size-range of the giant swallowtail, the largest butterfly in North America. Difficulty: Hard.

 

as big as a dinner plate, 8" or 203 mm, would cover a quarter (coin), 1" or 25 mm, would hide a tennis ball, 2.7" or 69 mm

Cupido minimus (the small blue) is dark brown/smoky black with a dusting of blue scales. It loves kidney vetch, and basking in the sunshine with its wings half open. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Small copper, Brown argus, Red admiral

The reference that I have used for most of this quiz, Sbordoni and Forestiero's "Butterflies of the World", counts 165,000 identified species of butterflies - and that was only as of 1985! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Butterflies, Beautiful flyer, Colored wing

The name Danaus plexippus is Greek and means "sleepy transformation" which is a reference to the life cycle of the insect commonly known as the monarch butterfly. They were first described by the great Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 work "Systema Natura". However in 1780 the Polish entomologist, Jan Krysztof Kluk, named a new genus of butterflies Danaus and placed the monarch in this new group. Monarchs are part of the family of milkweed butterflies (Deanaidae) which refers to their main habitat of mikweed species. Danaus plexippus is one of three species of monarch butterflies although it is by far the best known. Six subspecies and two colour morphs have been identified within this species. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Latin, Swedish, Navajo

The luna moth has a fairly large range in the United States, covering half the continental U.S., extending from the east coast to the Mississippi and a little west of it. Difficulty: Average.

 

Florida across to Texas, west of the Mississippi and into northern Mexico, the west coast and into western Canada

Inachis io (the peacock) has four yellow/blue/purple/russet eyes on its upper wings. After her transformation, the girl Io was looked after by the hundred-eyed Argus, who was eventually slain by Zeus and whose eyes were moved onto the peacock's feathers. Hence the butterfly's common name reflects Greek legend AND its most identifiable feature! Io's father was called Inachis. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Grayling, Comma, Purple emperor

The first three segments of the caterpillar (excluding the head) are known as the thoracic segments, each segment having a pair of true legs known as the thoracic legs. In the adult insect these segments will correspond to the thorax. The remaining segments are known as the abdominal segments and will correspond to the abdomen of the adult. The third to the sixth of these segments each possess a pair of false legs, or prolegs, as does the last segment of the body although the pair of false legs on this segment will form the anal claspers in the adult. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Ten, Twelve, Sixteen

The most common name given to this "king of butterflies" is monarch. This has been traced back to the early European settlers to North America, especially those of Dutch and English background. At the time of this settlement William of Orange was both the Stadtholder of Holland and King William III of England. When the settlers first came across this bright orange butterfly, they were so dazzled by its colour that they named it in honour of their king. This is also thought to be the origin of another common name by which the butterfly is known - king billy. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Ancient Greeks, Native Americans, Eighteenth century entomologists

In Canada and where summer is shorter in the north part of its range, the luna moth fits in one generation, maturing in early June through early July. Where the season lasts longer, in New York and southward, they fit in two generations, the first appearing as adults by May, the second 2-2.5 months later. In the extreme southern end of the range, there are three generations, starting in February and every eight to ten weeks later.

Difficulty: Hard.

 

two generations a year, one generation a year, three generations a year

Aglais urticae (the small tortoiseshell) - this beautiful nettle-muncher (as a caterpillar of course) hibernates, and can often be woken by a warm spell in winter, or found hanging bat-like in the darkest recesses of your garage. Difficulty: Hard.

 

White admiral, Small copper, Large tortoiseshell

While the monarch butterfly is entirely herbivorous, there is a difference in their diet depending on the stage of their life cycle. Monarch butterfly larvae feed almost exclusively on the different species of milkweed. This explains one of the other common names for the species, the milkweed butterfly. However, once they reach the adult stage, their diet becomes more varied as they use the nectar of the flowers of various species for sustenance. In addition to milkweed coneflowers, thistles, asters and horseweed are among the species used. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Omnivorous, Carnivorous, It doesn't live long enough to have any diet

The caterpillars are big and similar in color to the moths themselves. As they get older, they may have pale dots or stripes down the sides, or darker undersides, but the predominant color is lime green. They go through five instars or molts before finally changing to moths. During the first two or three instars, the caterpillars tend to gather in groups, but in the last two or three, they become solitary, concentrating on feeding. Difficulty: Hard.

 

dark red, up to 1" (2.5 cm), dark green, up to 2" (5.1 cm), lime green, up to 2.5" (6.4 cm)

Anthocaris cardamines (orangetip) is my favourite butterfly for the bright orange wing-tips of the male, and the striking mottled green camouflage of both sexes' underwings. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Large white, Painted lady, Green hairstreak

It is at this stage of development that the caterpillar becomes the adult butterfly (the imago). After the caterpillar has pupated the body breaks down and, over time, is re-organised into the form of the adult. This process is known as metamorphosis, a Latin word that means transformation. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Case, Sleeve, Container

A sure fire way to distinguish a male from female monarch butterfly, should you get close enough to look, is the presence of a black spot on the inside of its hind wing. This is completely absent in females. This spot is made up of androconial scales. There is a certain extent of sexual dimorphism in that the male is slightly larger than the female although this is not marked. The black vein patterning on the wings of the female is also somewhat thicker than on those of the male which can make her appear darker in colour. Difficulty: Easy.

 

The female has pink coloured antennae, The male has beard like hairs on his antennae, The female has redder legs than the male

This might have been a trick question, because the luna moth has no mouth and eats nothing, but the caterpillar munches on a variety of hardwood tree leaves, whatever it finds itself near. Some of the variety of trees reported include: hickory, walnut, persimmon, sumac, sweet gum, white birch. Can you imagine the luna moth fluttering around a big white birch tree in the moonlight, waiting to lay its eggs nearby? Beautiful! Difficulty: Hard.

 

the caterpillar eats only persimmon leaves, the caterpillar prefers sumac but will eat other tree leaves; the adult moth drinks nectar of mallows, the caterpillar eats mostly grasses and wetland plants; the adult drinks honeysuckle nectar

Under magnification it can be seen that the cremaster actually consists of a number of very small hook-like structures. Those species that pupate in this way spin a small pad of silk to which the cremaster is attached. Other species of butterflies use a number of methods to secure the pupa including silken girdles attached to the foodplant or totally enclosing the cocoon within leaves of the foodplant that have been drawn together and secured with silken cables. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The ventral hook, The palps, The dorsal hook

The life cycle of the monarch is a four stage affair with the development from a newly laid egg to a fully fledged adult butterfly taking about 30 days to complete. The first stage is obviously the egg. This is laid by the female on the bottom of a milkweed leaf. The female usually only lays one egg at a time although she will do multiple layings throughout her life. This egg usually hatches within 3-4 days of being laid. The second stage is the larva or caterpillar stage and this normally takes between ten and fourteen days. Caterpillars will moult when they outgrow their skins.

This shedding is called an instar and monarchs undergo five instars. The third stage is the pupa or chrysalis stage which also takes between ten and fourteen days. This is the time when the caterpillar becomes a butterfly! The pupa, which is normally well camouflaged to deter predation, hangs from a silk pad spun by the caterpillar by a pair of pre-legs. Finally a fully fledged adult butterfly emerges to begin its main task of reproduction and hopefully a whole new cycle of life starts. Difficulty: Hard.

 

One week, Twenty four hours, It takes a whole year

Once the caterpillar empties its gut of all food, water, fluids and feces, it's ready to pupate in the leaf litter at the base of its tree. It's actually a silkworm and so produces a pupa with many strands of silk, then a brown outer covering made of leaves. The silk isn't of commercial quality and usually can't be unreeled to be spun, so the fortunate caterpillar gets to live undisturbed by silk weavers. In about two weeks, it will be ready to emerge. Difficulty: Hard.

 

the caterpillar climbs to the highest leaves, out of reach, the caterpillar takes a last full meal of as much leaves and water as it can eat , the caterpillar crawls to the base of its tree, hoping to avoid caterpillars competing for the same spot

The proboscis is the butterfly's most important mouthpart. This is the tube that can be seen extended and probing whilst the butterfly is feeding on nectar from flowerheads. It is not, in fact, a single tube but two tubes, each having a groove to its inner face that form a larger central canal when their edges are brought together. Nectar from the flower is drawn up through these tubes into a receptacle in the head before passing into the stomach. The trochanter has nothing to do with feeding as this term refers to a small joint in the leg that connects the basal joint, or coxa, to its femur...in effect the hip joint.
The mandibles are the mouthparts that the insect possessed whilst in its larval stage and the palps are elongated organs that are concerned with the senses of taste and touch. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The palps, The trochanter, The mandible

A moth is opposite. It usually flies at night. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Moth, Both, Neither

The monarch is the only species of butterfly known to make a two-way migration annually, much in the same way as birds do. This annual migration of millions of butterflies is considered to be one of the great wonders of the animal kingdom. Known to fly as many as a hundred miles a day, every year, starting around October, the butterflies leave their summer feeding grounds of the north and make their way south to warmer climes.

There are three distinct and separate populations of monarchs in North America and each population has its own separate migration path. Those west of the Rocky Mountains head off to southern California for the winter whilst those east of the Rockies choose Mexico as their wintering ground. During this migration, the insects use both thermals and air currents to cover distances of up to 3000 miles. Then, come spring and warmer weather around March, the butterflies make the arduous journey back to the north for the summer months. Difficulty: Average.

 

They hibernate in colonies in caves, They grow a special furry layer to keep them warm, They use bioluminescence to keep warm

The caterpillar can go into diapause while a pupa. If it senses colder days and other indications of winter, it fails to appear in its usual two weeks and instead decides that winter is coming and life would be better if it stayed snug in its pupa until spring, where it has extra quilts, a mug of hot chocolate and a roaring fire. Or something like that. Difficulty: Hard.

 

the adult moth hibernates, the caterpillar migrates south to where winters are mild enough, the adult moth migrates into northern Mexico

The costa, or costal margin, is the name given to the leading edges of both the fore and hindwings.
The termen, or outer margin is the name given to the furthermost edge of the wings from the thorax and the dorsum, or the inner margin refers to the lower or trailing edges of the wings.
The apex is the point at which the costa and termen meet on the forewing i.e the wingtip. The point at which the costa and termen meet on the hindwing is known as the outer angle. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The termen, The dorsum, The apex

While very restrictive in terms of habitat, the milkweed species which provide the exclusive diet of monarch caterpillars play a vital role in ensuring the survival of the species. Milkweeds contain toxins known as cardinolide aglycones which are transferred to the caterpillar as it consumes the plant. These are then stored in their bodies and remain in the insect for its entire lifespan. They ensure that the insect tastes terrible to say the least. This, together with the bright colouring, deters predation and contributes to the long term survival of the species. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Milkweeds contain sex hormones which are vital for reproduction, Milkweeds contain oils which are needed for the development of their wings, It doesn't. They simply prefer the taste of milkweeds.

The moth's wings are tiny when it emerges, barely half as long as itself, all folded up. It climbs to a safe spot where it has room to let its wings stretch out, be filled with circulatory fluids and harden. The moth is vulnerable during this time, which can take two hours, but afterwards, it's ready to fly and be a full adult. It usually emerges in the morning to be fully ready for evening flight. Difficulty: Average.

 

practice flying in low hops, practice walking up a tree trunk and down, get a good meal and drink

Apatura iris (the purple emperor) is a handsome, purple creature that congregates on a master tree, often an oak, before swooping off to find sallows in which they lay their eggs. Difficulty: Hard.

 

White admiral, Heath fritillary, Brimstone

Members of the family Pieridae, the family that contains the cabbage white butterflies, demonstrate this type of seasonal variation very frequently.
In those species where the male and female differ in colouration, the orange tip butterfly for example, the male carries bright orange markings at the apex of the forewings but the female does not, this is called sexual dimorphism and this is extremely common throughout the animal kingdom.
Gynandrous specimens which are sometimes incorrectly referred to as hermaphrodites, are those which carry both male and female characteristics (not necessarily genital in nature). This may mean both male and female colouring and patterning of the wings in the same individual. These examples are extremely rare. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sexual dimorphism, Gynandrogeny, Tint variation

When studies showed that there has been a considerable decline in the number of monarch butterflies, especially in their overwintering locations, investigations into the cause were instituted. Although it is not the only threat the butterfly faces, it has now established that the most critical threat facing the continued survival of this insect is the loss of the milkweed species that is their sole breeding habitat.

The decline in the milkweed has been traced back to the increased use of herbicides by farmers and to the increase in the number of genetically modified crops such as soybean and corn which are herbicide resistant. As the milkweed is not herbicide resistant, spraying effectively results in the elimination of the milkweed which used to grow between the rows of crops and provide habitat for the butterflies. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Increased air traffic along their migratory route, An increased demand for monarch caterpillars as a delicacy, There are no major threats facing them. Their numbers are actually increasing

Scientists believe the tails are similar to the eye spots, except they fool bats that are "looking" with echolocation. The bat will recognize the tails with its radar as something solid, but when it gets close enough to strike, the moving tails can fool it into targeting them, coming up with, at most, a mouthful of useless, harmless tails, without the body it was hoping for. Difficulty: Hard.

 

they entice the best mates, they allow the moth to scoop up water while flying, the have increased on modern moths as a mutation due to chemicals

Many species of the Lycaenidae butterflies spend their caterpillar and pupal stages as guests of ants. The caterpillars, early in this stage, secrete a liquid that ants find irresistible. The caterpillars are taken deep within the nest where they feed on the eggs and young of the ants. After metamorphosis the adult butterfly, the imago, emerges and makes its way from the nest.
The Hesperiidae family contains species of butterflies known as the skippers, the Nymphalidae are a large family that contain well known species such as the small tortoiseshell, the white admiral and the silver-washed fritillary. The Pieridae family consists mainly of the white butterflies that are commonly seen and often referred to as cabbage whites. Difficulty: Hard.

 

The Hesperiidae family, The Nymphalidae family, The Pieridae family

In biology, mimicry is where an animal develops a similarity to another animal because that similarity gives them an advantage that they would not otherwise enjoy. This can be either appearance, behaviour or both. It has long been accepted that the similarity in appearance between the monarch and the viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is a case of mimicry. For a long time it was thought that it was a case of Batesian mimicry. This is where a harmless animal gains protection from predators by resembling a poisonous one.

However, this theory has been revised after a study in 1991 found that the viceroy is actually toxic and dangerous in its own right. This would make the relationship between the two butterfly species an example of Mullerian mimicry. This is where two harmful species develop similar appearance or behaviour patterns anyway. The theory is that if they look alike or act alike and predators have learnt to avoid one species, the chances are highly likely that they will avoid the other species as well. A win-win situation for both species, so to speak! Difficulty: Average.

 

Impostership, Habitat Poaching, Colonisation

The female attaches her eggs to the bottom of a leaf, and lays a few at a time, but does it often, so her total can exceed 500. They incubate for eight to thirteen days before hatching, depending on the weather. The tiny caterpillars that emerge are green, bristly, and ready to start growing. Difficulty: Average.

 

a female lays two dozen green eggs at once, a female lays a dozen green eggs individually, a female lays 100 eggs in batches of a dozen, light brown

Papilio machaon (the swallowtail) has a huge wingspan and long tails beneath a yellow and blue coloration, with orange eyespots. You would think it more at home in an Indonesian rainforest. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Hummingbird hawkmoth, Purple hairstreak, Duke of Burgundy