They live in all parts of the world and there are thousands of kinds. The wings of butterflies come in many colors and patterns.
Some wings are solid bright colors, like blue, yellow, orange or red.
Many butterflies have intricate patterns on their wings. They may have spots on their wings that look like animal eyes. The lady butterflies sometimes drop their eggs as they fly, but usually they lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves. They choose leaves they know their babies will like to eat. The caterpillars eat lots of leaves and plants and grow bigger and bigger.