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Butterflies along with moths belong to the class Lepidoptera of insects. Similar to other insects, they have three pairs of jointed legs, a pair of antenna and large brightly coloured wings. Their body is divided into three parts: thorax, abdomen and head. The exclusive feature of their body is the elegant wings. They have two pairs of wings; fore wings and hind wings. The thorax contains the muscles that aid in flight. Butterflies are omnipresent; you can find them everywhere in cold, dry, moist, hot area be it in the sea beaches or high mountains, rainforest or desert. Life cycle of a butterfly consists of four stages viz. egg, larva, pupa, adult. The eggs are generally laid on plant leaves and are attached by a special glue which hardens quickly. The larva/ caterpillar hatches from egg and feeds on leaves and flowers. They undergo moulting or shedding of skin before it turns into a pupa, which is a resting stage. In this stage they do not feed and spins the silk cocoon around it for protection. After this stage emerges the alluring adult insects. The metamorphosis of grotesque pupa to gorgeous butterfly fascinates mankind since eons. Butterflies can only fly when their body temperature is above 27 degree Celsius. To heat themselves up they expose their wings to the sun. Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers while some sip the liquid from rotting fruits. Butterflies have been divided into many smaller groupings. Following are some of the various types of butterflies: • American snout butterfly: These small brown colour wonders have moustache like long mouthparts that resembles a snout. Adult snout butterflies resembles dead leaves and participate in migration. • Monarch butterfly: True to its name, they are ruling the butterfly world and is the most commonly found worldwide. They are poisonous butterflies, which feeds on milkweeds. • Peacock butterfly: Their brownish purple wings have bright eyespot resembling the peacock feathers. They make hissing sounds by rubbing their wings when they sense danger from predator birds. • Tiger swallowtail butterfly: They have golden yellow and black stripes on their wings resembling those of tigers. They have 'tails' on their wings, which are extended wing parts at the edges. • Dogface butterfly: Their wings are mostly yellow with dark margins and small black circles in the centre of the fore wings, which resembles the head of a dog. They are common in the southern woods of USA. As said by R.H Heinlein"Butterflies are self propelled flowers" and who wouldn't like to keep some flowers in their private gardens! Butterflies make for great pets as long as they are provided enough space for flying and collecting nectar. Caterpillars too make great pets for children with their furry body. A lot of arguments can be heard about whether a butterfly house works or not as every enclosure is too little for them to fly. In addition,this butterfly house should not be made of plastic or glass, as they can't grasp on these surfaces. These can be placed in gardens away from strong winds which can be used by the butterflies during night as resting place and during hibernation. To make them visit your butterfly house regularly have some source of nectar nearby these accommodations. Real Butterflies are great gift items. Many keep these butterflies inside their room or netted butterfly houses. Apart from butterfly art, butterfly posters and real butterfly mountings one can gift frozen butterflies too. Butterflies have been associated with romance in almost every romantic films and books. According to Hindu customs, butterflies are considered auspicious in marriage ceremonies. So what's better than to gift some frozen butterflies for wedding to the newly wed couples. Resource Box Frozen butterflies for wedding are great gift ideas for couples who are about to start a new journey in their life. For children, a Butterfly house is appropriate as a gift to keep them in company of their colourful, winged neighbours. Butterflies want to fly; they need to fly so it's better to release the butterflies in nature which are native to the region instead of holding them captive. They will surely visit and greet you every morning if you have some flowering plants in your garden.
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