The butterfly is an amazing creature with almost magical qualities as it drifts about in the air bringing a smile to the face of almost everyone that sees it. It's hard to imagine that this insect of the Lepidoptera order was once an ugly caterpillar.

Butterflies are actually notable for their unusual life cycle. The beautiful butterfly, lays its eggs on a plant. The eggs hatch and out come the tiny larva which grow into caterpillars. When the time comes, the caterpillar attaches itself to a branch and spins an outer shell around its body called a pupa. Eventually a beautiful butterfly emerges from this and the life cycle begins again.

There are many different kinds of butterflies, they come in many colors with different markings and different shaped wings. There are actually five families that are recognized:

Swallowtails & Birdwings (Papilionidae family)
Whites & Yellows (Pieridae family)
Blues & Coppers or Gossamer Winged (Lycaenidae family)
Metalmark (Riodinidae)
Brush Footed (Nymphalidae)

Butterflies eat the nectar of flowers, and if you want to see a ton of them in your yard you should get a butterfly bush which will produce beautiful purple flowers that attract them like crazy. Along with you butterflies you may get a hummingbird or two zooming in to drink the nectar from these flowers. Butterflies also like to drink a little bit of water and you might see them on a droplet or a puddle or maybe even near your bird bath.

If you're lucky, you might have a butterfly land on you which can be an exciting experience. The reason for this is that butterflies actually needs salt to survive and sometimes they can't get enough from the nectar and they attracted to solve the things such as human sweat.

The butterfly has an amazing sense of "smell", but he actually uses his antenna for that. The antenna are very sensitive. They also have very well-developed vision and some can hear while others can make sounds.

Many species of butterflies are migratory and they can fly long distances using the Sun as a guide. The monarch butterfly, for example, migrates a distance of about 3000 miles. Some species are territorial and will actually chase other butterflies out of their territory.

The amazing butterfly is often the subject of artists being rendered in jewelry, paintings, poems and the like. Who knows, if you take the time to sit outside and look at these winged beauties with their erratic flight, you too may be inspired to create some art!