Butterflies use their vision and scent glands to attract and find mates. Different species emit different attractive odors called pheromones. These odors may be detected from one to two km away. When mating, the male and female remain paired with their abdomens connected from 15 minutes to as long as three hours. Some adult butterflies visit many types of flowers for nectar while others are more picky about the flowers they choose for food.
Butterflies have four wings.
There are two forewings and two hindwings. They flap their wings quite slowly, usually from 5-20 beats per second. In contrast, some flies beat their wings as fast as 1000 times per second. The slower ones flutter about at only a few km per hour. The adult butterfly, after emerging from the pupa, does not grow.