butterflys

[gaza47]

a butterfly flew into my home in August, yesterday 17 12 05 it flew onto the stairs I persumed that it had been dead but it proved me wrong, I thought butterflys only had a life span of some 48 hours but aparently not could any one tell me how long they normaly live ?

[spudqueen]

I think that some of them hibernate to start a new cycle of butterflies next spring/summer.

[Kingaroo]

It varies widely depending on the species. Some do only live a day or so, and in fact don't even have mouths since they do not eat, only live to mate. Monarchs, orange and black putterflies which are common in North America, spend their winters in Mexico and return to their birthplace.

[logman]

Your presumption was not quite true, many butterfly's do in fact overwinter. The Peacock for instance will offen find shelter in a garden shed etc until the spring. The one in your house was probably fooled into thinking it was spring due to your winter heating.

[gen2]

In my experience, the ones most likely to come into houses to hibernate (in the UK) are Small Tortoiseshells