Butterflies and Moths

53

Mountain glory

The Bhutan (boo-tan) glory

butterfly lives in the mountains

of lndia and Thailand. The

tails on the insect’s wings are

important. Predators see these

first and peck them, leaving

the more important parts

of the insect alone.

Look for three long

tails on the hind wing.

Greasy wings

The small apollo butterfly has a
special survival feature for life
in the mountains. It has greasy
wings, which means that
it can survive freezing
weather and sudden
snow flurries.

Tough moth

Nothing is hardier than a burnet

moth. Look for this red and

black survivor in the mountains

of Central America, Asia, and

Europe. It tastes so bad that

birds spit it out immediately,

leaving large numbers of

caterpillars and moths to

survive and breed.

Warm and windy

Many mountain insects survive

the cold winter by sunbathing

during the day. But strong

winds can turn a sunny day

into a windy nightmare. This

scarce copper butterfly

clings to a rock to avoid

being blown away.

US_052-053_In_the_mountains.indd 53 02/11/17 4:21 pm