Nature's notebook: The delicate beauty of butterflies
Butterflies are nature's reward for patience in waiting for
spring. They flit on the scene with colors that rival the
flowers they visit for nectar. With a lightness that is barely
felt if they land on you and the fragility of a cut-out of fine
paper their presence is ephemeral in the landscape. Their
delicate beauty, however, belies the fine-tuned body parts that
enable them to thrive in the wild. Come along as we look at how
well suited this large group of insects are in coloring our
world as we head towards summer. Butterflies and moths make up
the second largest group of insects after beetles. There are
general characteristics that usually separate butterflies from
moths. Butterflies have a slim body not covered by hairs while
moths are wider and hairy. Butterflies are colorful and moths
often dull. Butterfly antennae are slender with knobs on the
ends. Moth antennae are either slim or feathery. Butterflies fly
by day and moths by night. Butterflies re