Q 01/05

Which sequence lists the stages of a butterfly's life cycle in order?

A) Egg, larva, pupa, adult

B) Egg, pupa, larva, adult

C) Egg, larva, nymph, adult

D) Egg, nymph, pupa, adult

Answer · why

A) Egg, larva, pupa, adult

Egg, larva, pupa, adult: the freshly emerged adult is damp and crumpled, and must pump blood into its wings and let them dry before it can fly; after ...

Q 02/05

Which tropical American butterfly owes its shimmer to wing ridges, not pigment?

A) Morpho

B) Monarch

C) Painted lady

D) Glasswing

Answer · why

A) Morpho

Morpho wings hold no blue pigment: stacked microscopic ridges send back blue wavelengths, and only on the upper side; underneath, the same wings are d...

Q 03/05

What is the name of the straw-like mouthpart that adult butterflies use for feeding?

A) Mandible

B) Antennae

C) Palpi

D) Proboscis

Answer · why

D) Proboscis

Proboscis: it starts as two separate half-tubes that the newly emerged butterfly has to join together, and since it can only suck, the adult lives ent...

Q 04/05

Kallima butterflies of tropical Asia hide in plain sight because the undersides of their wings resemble what?

A) A dead leaf

B) A bird dropping

C) A flake of bark

D) A patch of lichen

Answer · why

A) A dead leaf

A dead leaf: the undersides show dark veins like a leaf's, and individuals vary in colour and blotches as real leaves do, a variety traced in 2022 to ...

Q 05/05

What is the pupal stage of a butterfly specifically called?

A) Cocoon

B) Nymph

C) Chrysalis

D) Caterpillar

Answer · why

C) Chrysalis

Chrysalis comes from the Greek khrysos, gold, after the metallic golden sheen on the pupae of some butterflies; most moths instead hide the pupa insid...