How Do Butterflies Mate?
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Pheromones
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Pheromones are a natural odor given off by a species, humans included, to attract the opposite sex. The butterfly is no different. The female butterfly has pheromones in her body that act as a perfume to attract the male butterfly. The male butterfly can smell these pheromones up to a mile away. Some species of the butterfly family have a more concentrated pheromone scent. This allows the male butterfly to find his mate at an even greater distance.
The Mating Process
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The female butterfly has approximately 100 eggs she will lay in her lifetime. The male butterfly will seize the female butterfly by her abdomen during the mating ritual. The two butterflies are joined end to end in order to mate. This allows the male butterfly to inject his sperm into a cavity in the female butterfly's body. This cavity will store the sperm until the female butterfly is ready to lay her eggs. As the female butterfly expels the egg, it passes by the sperm cavity. The egg becomes fertile at this time.
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The female butterfly will lay her eggs in clusters or scatter them among many plants. These host plants will act as food for the emerging larvae as they hatch and develop. Through the course of development, there are many risk factors. Disease, climate conditions and predators all play a part in how many butterfly eggs reach larvae stage. Of the 100 or so eggs that are laid, only about 2 percent actually reach adulthood.
As the environment changes, so does the development of the butterfly. The butterfly will move to areas where host plants are more prominent. When farming and other land development takes place, the host plants that the butterfly relies on may be removed. This causes the butterfly to move into an area more suitable for its development. There are many plants you can grow in your back yard to attract a variety of butterflies each year.
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- Photo Credit Altan Ramadan (Stock.xchang)
