1 Answer

How long do butterflies live?

Different butterfly species have different adult potential life spans. By marking butterflies then recapturing or sighting them later scientists gain information on how long butterflies can live. An average butterfly species has an adult life span of 2 weeks or less. For example one butterfly studied in Costa Rica had a life expectancy of about 2 days, and live 10 days at the most. No adult butterfly can live more than a year. The Mourning Cloak adult and some related tortoiseshells and angel wings that hatch in early summer may live almost a year. It over winters as an adult and then waits to court, mate and lay eggs the following spring or early summer. Monarchs and Swallowtails may live about a month in the summer, but the Monarchs that migrate to Mexico or the California coast may live up to 6 months. Some long-lived tropical butterflies live up to 6 months as adults. The long-life champion is a tiny yucca moth that feeds on Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata). Dr. Jerry Powell of the University of California at Berkeley has found this moth's caterpillar may be able to wait up until 30 years to form a pupa and emerge as an adult.

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