BUTTERFLIES and their PREDATORS

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Crawled Up The Flower Stalk!

Graceful and non-aggressive, butterflies, at every stage of their development, from egg to caterpillar, caterpillar to chrysalis, chrysalis to adult, attract a wide variety of natural predators.

The list of butterfly foe is long and includes critters such as ants, frogs, lizards, birds, rats, snakes, parasitic flies, wasps and many species of carnivorous insects, like praying mantises, dragonflies and robber flies. Opportunistic and stealthy spiders can also be found hunting unsuspecting butterflies.

Brightly-colored markings, foul odors, bitter-tastes, false eye-spots and false identities are just some of the creative and dramatic defenses that butterflies have developed over time to protect themselves from their aggressors, but despite their efforts, butterflies still find themselves at the bottom of the food chain and at the top of the menu for many creatures who are hungry for survival.

To learn more about Butterflies and their Predators…

Visit OWB’s Butterfly Dimension Pages…