This site was created through a Link to Learn Partnership Grant between the E.M. Crouthamel Elementary School of the Souderton Area School District in Souderton Pennsylvania, and The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Butterflies and moths belong to the second largest order of insects, Lepidoptera. About 12,000 species of butterflies live in the United States. Go to the Butterfly and Moth FAQs page for other butterfly information.
Butterflies live and thrive on every continent just like other insect species.
They can be found in a variety of climates but they live best in warmer areas. If you were looking for a butterfly you might find it in a sunny area near flowering plants. Butterflies and moths, like many other insects go through a four stage cycle of development. See The Four Stages Of Development page for information on the life cycle of a butterfly. Visit our Online Metamorphosis Journal as we record observations from our own butterfly life cycle experiment in Ms. Jean Frey's third grade class at E. M. Crouthamel Elementary.