Red admirals, American ladies and monarchs retreat south for the winter. They cannot survive freezing temperatures in any stage in their life cycle; they migrate or die.

Butterflies that overwinter in northern areas do so in only one stage. For instance, the banded hairstreak species spend the winter as eggs. Fritillaries and crescents are among the species that overwinter as furry caterpillars. Tiger swallowtails and cabbage whites hang on in cold weather either as pupae (chrysalids) attached to a tree or leaf or on the ground under leaf litter or at the base of grasses.

Butterfly Life Cycle

Each butterfly goes through four stages in its life: egg, caterpillar, pupa (chrysalis), and adult. The adult female lays eggs on an appropriate plant that will serve for food when the caterpillar hatches. Some species lay only one egg on each plant, others place a mass of eggs together. Some lay eggs on flower buds, others on under side of leaves, others at the base of a tree. Number of eggs laid over the course of their lives vary from a few dozen to a few hundred to a few thousand depending upon specie.

The caterpillar spends its time eating. It outgrows its exoskeleton, or outer skin, splitting and shedding four or five times in two or three weeks. For the pupa stage, the caterpillar attaches itself to the food plant, or more likely to a twig or blade of grass, while it metamorphizes into a chrysalis. The outer case is a hard outer shell appearing lifeless and inert. The tissues and structures break down and are replaced with the tissues and structures of an adult butterfly. If the process proceeds properly the development takes one to two weeks. Sometimes the chrysalis enters a resting state for a few months or for the winter.

The fully formed butterfly is wrapped in its wings until it emerges from the split chrysalis when it pumps fluid to unfurl the wings. It will grow no larger. Tiny butterflies are not baby ones.

Some species go through this life cycle only once a year. Most have more than one cycle each year. The cabbage white produces a succession of broods from spring until hard frosts.

Plan Next Year's Flower Garden With Butterflies In Mind

These native plants will attract nearby butterflies:

asters (Aster ericoides), bee balm (Monarda didyma), Spanish needles (Bidens lemmoni), blazing stars (Liatris), buckwheats (Eriogonum umbellatum), wild lilac (Ceanothus fendleri), coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), dogbanes (Apocynum androsaemifolium), forget me nots (Myosotis), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), goldenrods (Solidago), groundsel (Senecio salignus), lantana (Lantana montevidensis), milkweeds (Asclepias tuberosa), mountain mints (Pycnanthemum), ox eye daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum), and violets (Viola pedata).

Consider planting the following as caterpillar food plants: asters (Aster), buckwheats (Eriiogonum), desert buckbrush (C. fendleri), lupines (Lupinus), mallows/hollyhocks (Alcea rosea), milkweeds (Asclepias), parsley (Petroselinum), pearly everlastings (Anaphalis sp.), rock cresses (Arabis), snapdragon (Antirrhinum majur), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), violets (Viola), black cherry (Prunus serotina) and chokecherry (P. virginiana).

Taken from "Enjoying Butterflies More" A Special Publication from Bird Watcher's Digest, Pardson Corporation, PO Box 110, Marietta, Ohio, 45750 (1-800-879-2473)

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Used by permission

For more information on the butterflies of Washington State, visit the USGS Butterflies of Washington.

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