Encarta For Kids

Moths Moths are close relatives of butterflies, but they differ from butterflies in certain ways. Moths have featherlike antennae, and when perched they fold their wings flat over their backs. Unlike most butterflies, moths also tend to have thick, hairy bodies and dull-colored wings. Moths

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Fooling Predators These four insects look like the same kind of butterfly. But they are actually from different families— and one is not even a butterfly. Because birds and other predators don’t like the taste of the Ithomoiine butterfly, second from top, they avoid similar looking insects, including the Castniid moth, bottom. This survival strategy […]

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Mating Butterflies When a male and female butterfly are ready to mate, they press the tips of their abdomens together, as shown in this photo. The pair may stay like that for several hours. Mating Butterflies

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Butterfly Emerges Butterflies start out as caterpillars. When fully grown, a caterpillar forms a shell called a chrysalis. Inside the shell, the caterpillar slowly changes into a butterfly. Here, a colorful monarch butterfly emerges from its chrysalis. Butterfly Emerges

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Caterpillar Did you know that a butterfly begins its life as a caterpillar? The caterpillar eats leaves or other parts of plants and grows rapidly before going to sleep in a cocoon. When it awakens to break out of the cocoon, it is no longer a caterpillar but a butterfly! Caterpillar

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Butterflies Butterflies visit flowers to feed on nectar. As the butterfly feeds, a powder on the flower called pollen sticks to the insect’s body. The butterfly spreads the pollen to other flowers it visits, allowing the plants to reproduce. Butterflies

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Butterfly   Butterfly Lays Eggs                     A butterfly starts its life as an egg, laid by a female adult butterfly after mating. Butterfly eggs vary in size and shape, but most are surrounded by a protective hard shell. Caterpillar Hatches             […]

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Butterflies And Moths Butterflies and moths have two pairs of large wings that are sometimes brightly colored. Like all insects, butterflies and moths have a body with three main parts—head, thorax, and abdomen—and three pairs of legs.   Butterflies And Moths

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Butterflies Butterflies are flying insects with two pairs of large, colorful wings. Butterflies are strong fliers, but they can only fly if their body temperature is higher than 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degrees Celsius. In cooler weather, butterflies spread their wings in the sun to warm their bodies. Imagine sucking up a drink through your tongue. You wouldn’t […]

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Bison American bison, also known as buffalo, are large, grass-eating mammals. There were once millions of them on the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. Pioneers hunted bison to near extinction in the 19th century. In the 20th century, the number of bison increased. Bison

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