The food they depend on dies off in the winter so they are forced the migrate to warmer weather. Butterfly migration is best expressed by the monarch, which is known to migrate in the fall to overwintering sites in California and Mexico. In the U.S. several other butterfly species engage in lesser migration distances. Some include the Buckeye, the Painted Lady, and the Little Sulphur.
Butterflies have a wide range of rituals among the different species.
They are the only group of insects with scales covering their wings. They also have an antennae that is sensitive to the touch, taste, temperture, wind, movement, and smell. They differ from other insects also by their ability to coil up their proboscis. They eat liquid food such as flower nector or tree sap. Some butterflies only live a few hours while other live for months and migrate thousands of miles.