Butterflies

and

Moths

Let’s study the butterflies in Alpiarça!

Green Lesson aims• Enhance and protect species and habitats

characteristic of the region;• Develop environmental and cultural awareness and

respect;• Recognize butterflies as an important

environmental quality;• Know and disclose some species of butterflies, flora

and fauna of the region, contributing to the monitoring of its biodiversity;

• Increase knowledge about the Portuguese butterflies exploring their life cycles and sharing the information with other European countries;

• Establish associations between butterflies and flora of the region.

Green Lesson

Please bring:- Comfortable clothes and shoes;- Cap/hat- Water- Sun protector - Pen or pencil/observation worksheet - “Bring your own devices” (photos,

record)

Observation

Worksheet

Where’s the butterfly?

Life cycle of a moth

Life cycle of a mothEggs

Life cycle of a mothcaterpillars

Life cycle of a mothChrysalis

Life cycle of a mothImago

Diurnal vs. Nocturnal

• Antennas clubs

• In rest position closes its wings vertically above your body, staying visible to the bottom of the wings

• Antennas with several Forms (feathery, filiform, etc.)

• In the rest position the wings are horizontally or forming a kind of "roof" over the body, making visible the upper wings

Curiosities

• The largest Butterfly in Portugal is the “Charaxius jasius” - the butterfly of the strawberry tree.

Relationship butterfly/host plant

In the Group of the Lepidoptera, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), is one that has a larger capacity and migratory long distances between the breeding area in the Canadian Summer and overwintering area in Mexico!. In addition to seasonal migration the Monarch has arrived also to Europe, and settled in some places.

Diurnal Butterflies

Iphiclides feisthamelii

• Flies from February to December

• Host plant: Blackthorn, peach and Pear

• Caterpillar has osmeterium which displays when threatened.

• By the reduction of habitats the species took refuge in orchards

Pieris brassicae (big cabbage butterfly)

• Flies from January to December

• Host plant: cabbages and turnips

• Can be pests• Eggs laid in numerous

groups• Individuals who are born

in summer are migratory species

• Most species are adapted to urban environments

Pieris rapae (small cabbage butterfly)

• Flies from February to November

• Host plant: cabbages and turnips

• Eggs laid singly on the underside of leaves

• Habitat: cultivated fields and meadows in bloom

Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

• Flies from January to December

• Host plant: nettle • Practice hill-

topping• The Caterpillar

builds individual nests uniting leaves with silk yarn

Vanessa Cardui

• Flies March through October

• Host plant: Thistles, acanthus-bastard, loves, mauve and nettles

• Chrysalis is sensitive to cold

Inachios io (diurnal peacock)

• Flies from July to may of the following year

• Host plant: nettle• The Caterpillar is

gregarious• The adult

hibernates in rustic constructions, flying on sunny days in winter

Pararge aegeria (malhadinha)

• Flies from January to December

• Host plant: various grasses

• Daytime and nighttime while small Caterpillar in order of growth

• The male is territorial and rarely leaves his observation post

Maniola jurtina (medlar butterfly)

• Flies from March to October

• Host plant: grasses• Caterpillar feeds on

down to the last day changes, passing then to be nocturnal

Moths

Saturnia pyri (nocturne peacock)

• Flies from March to June

• Host plant: Apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, ash, willow and Poplar

• Can be in the cocoon about three years

Insects

Insects