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Butterflies belong to phylum Arthropoda and order Lepidoptera. Caterpillar is the larval form of the adult butterfly and involves complete metamorphosis because of which both tend to be dissimilar. Caterpillar has a cylindrical body with thousands of small legs, six pairs of simple eyes, long antennae, and strong jaws. Butterflies have all the characteristics of a fully developed insect. They have a pair of compound eyes, three body parts, long club-shaped antennae, six legs, and brightly coloured patterned wings.
| Table of Content |
Key Terms: Butterfly, Caterpillar, Metamorphosis, Lepidoptera, Evolution, Ocelli, Biogenesis, Larva, Sexual dimorphism, Larva, Lepidopterans, Leaf worms, Moth
Caterpillar
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A caterpillar is the larva form of butterfly belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Caterpillars are also the larva form or second stage of the life cycles of other lepidopterans, leaf worms, and moths. It undergoes complete metamorphosis, a biological process undergoing drastic changes by which the egg form of the insect forms its larva and further changes to an entirely different adult form.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars feed on solid food directly from nature by destroying leaves and plants using their strong jaws. They rely on the process of biting and chewing for feeding and form a cocoon further when it stabilises. Caterpillars are in the juvenile stage, hence they cannot reproduce, which means they are sexless.
Caterpillars are herbivorous, have a soft body, and walk minimally on thousands of short legs. They are protected from predators because of their adaptive physical structure as well as some parts are non-edible and poisonous. They have six pairs of simple eyes (ocelli), which helps them distinguish and see only black and white colour.
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Butterflies
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Butterflies are the adult or final stage involved in their life cycle and have all the characteristics of an insect belonging to the order Lepidoptera. They have three body parts, six legs, wings, and antennae. They are diurnal and play a crucial role in the pollination of flowering plants. Butterflies only feed on nectar from plants through the proboscis, a sucking tube.
Butterfly
Butterflies are formed through complete metamorphosis, that is, they undergo four stages in their life cycle. Female butterflies lay eggs on leaves or stem surfaces, then caterpillars are formed which later turns into a cocoon and forms pupa, and finally the formation of adult butterflies with wings. The wings of a butterfly are brightly coloured and conspicuous which enables it to be capable of long flight.
Butterflies are capable of reproduction and they are said to be sexually dimorphic, that is, the male is homogametic (ZZ) while the female is heterogametic (ZW). They have compound eyes and can distinguish and see all the colours. They can see polarised light which is helpful in navigation even in unsteady weather. Butterflies have antennae at the head with a club at their head which helps in keeping balance, sensing smell, and protecting themselves from predators through this sense.
Differences Between Caterpillar and Butterflies
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The main differences between caterpillars and butterflies are differentiated as follows:
| Caterpillars | Butterflies |
|---|---|
| Belong to the second stage and larval form of the life cycle. | Belong to the final (fourth) stage and adult form of the life cycle. |
| Feeds on solid food, that is, they bite and chew leaves and plants using their strong jaws. | Feeds on liquid food, that is, they drink nectar from plants using their proboscis. |
| Have thousands of small legs making its movement minimal. | Have only six legs, a common characteristic among insects. |
| Does not have any wings. | Have brightly coloured, patterned, and conspicuous wings |
| Movement is by walking. | Movement is by flying. |
| They show asexuality at this stage. | They show sexual dimorphism at this stage. |
| They are not capable of reproduction. | They are capable of reproduction. |
| Have long and simple antennae. | Have long antennae with a club shape at the end. |
| Have six pairs of simple eyes, called the ocelli. | Have a pair of eyes, called the compound eyes. |
| They can only distinguish and see black and white colours. | They can distinguish and see all the colours. |
Things to Remember
- Butterflies are arthropods belonging to the phylum Arthropoda and order Lepidoptera.
- The life cycle of butterflies involves four stages, the laying of eggs by female butterflies, formation of caterpillars, conversion to pupa, and finally the formation of fully developed adult butterflies.
- There are about 20,000 species of butterflies found and among them, Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing is the largest.
- The largest caterpillar found in the world is the Hickory Horned Devil.
- Caterpillar is the larval form of the adult butterfly and has a cylindrical segment body with thousands of small legs, six pairs of simple eyes, long antennae, and strong jaws.
- Caterpillars always feed heavily on leaves and plants by destroying, biting, and chewing them with their jaws and continue this eating till they obtain enough energy to stabilise and form a cocoon around them turning to pupa.
- When the pupa develops completely from within, the fully developed adult butterfly breaks it and comes out.
- An adult butterfly has a pair of compound eyes, three body parts, long club-shaped antennae, six legs, and brightly coloured patterned wings.
- The caterpillars cannot mate or reproduce while butterflies can mate and reproduce. The female butterflies lay eggs, which then hatch into caterpillars and then form adult butterflies.
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Sample Questions
Ques. What are the differences between caterpillars and butterflies in terms of eyes, food, and reproduction? (2 marks)
Ans. Caterpillars have six pairs of simple eyes, known as the ocelli, and can see only black and white colours. They feed on solid leaves and plants by biting and chewing using their jaws. Caterpillars cannot reproduce as they are in the larval stage and hence are termed asexual.
Butterflies have only one pair of eyes, known as compound eyes, and can see all the colours. They feed on liquid nectar from plants using proboscis. Butterflies can reproduce and show sexual dimorphism.
Ques. What is evolution? (2 marks)
Ans. Evolution is the process by which living organisms undergo changes in inherent characteristics gradually during successive generations by natural selection. It is a slow, gradual, irreversible natural process. The characteristics are heritable since they are the expression of genes that are passed on from parents to offspring through several generations.
Ques. What are the two types of metamorphosis? (2 marks)
Ans. The two types of metamorphosis are complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis.
- Incomplete metamorphosis is the type of metamorphosis in which the young form of the insect resembles the adult form and is only distinguishable because of their varying size and other characteristics. It is found in cockroaches, grasshoppers, termites, etc.
- Complete metamorphosis is the type of metamorphosis in which the young form of an insect is different from the adult form and the egg has to undergo drastic changes from larva to pupa and finally reach the adult stage. It is found in butterflies, moths, beetles, etc.
Ques. State the four stages involved in the Lepidopteran life cycle of butterflies. (3 marks)
Ans. The four stages in the Lepidopteran life cycle of butterflies are laying of eggs, formation of larvae, forming of pupae, and finally evolving to an adult butterfly.
- In the first stage of the life cycle of butterflies, the female butterfly lays hundreds of tiny eggs on the surface of leaves and stems. These eggs hatch into larvae when the conditions are warm and favourable.
- In the second stage, the eggs hatch to form larvae of butterflies called the caterpillars. They have a cylindrical segmented body with six pairs of simple eyes and thousands of small legs. Caterpillars feed heavily on plants and leaves by biting and chewing on them.
- In the third stage, the caterpillars form a protective covering called a cocoon around them turning into the pupa. The pupa gets developed and transformed fully from within and breaks apart when the butterfly emerges out.
- In the final stage, the adult butterfly is formed. They have fully developed wings used for long flights and feed on nectar from plants. They are capable of mating and reproducing and female butterflies can lay eggs, thus continuing the life cycle.
Ques. Write the similarity between the wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bat. What do you infer from the above, with reference to evolution? (2 marks)
Ans. The wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bat have similar functions, that is they are used for flight. But they have different structures and development. Hence, the wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bat are analogous organs. So, with reference to evolution, they are observed due to convergent evolution.
Ques. State two main propositions of Oparin and Haldane. (2 marks)
Ans. The two main propositions of Oparin and Haldane are as follows:
- The primitive atmosphere was reducing, that is, the free oxygen was absent.
- There was high temperature, high methane, ammonium, and hydrogen gas in the atmosphere.
Ques. Mention three differences between caterpillar and butterfly? (2 marks)
Ans. Some main differences between caterpillar and butterfly are:
- Caterpillar is of the larva form and second stage of the life cycle while the butterfly is the adult form and final stage of the life cycle.
- Caterpillars have minimal movement by walking and have thousands of small legs while the butterfly has only six legs and their movement is by flight.
- Caterpillars do not have any wings while the butterflies have brightly coloured, patterned, and conspicuous wings.
Ques. Explain the contribution of S L Miller’s experiment to the origin of life. (2 marks)
Ans. S L Miller’s experiment contributed to the origin of life by providing experimental evidence of chemical evolution. He experimented with H C Urey in 1953 using a closed flask containing methane, ammonium, and hydrogen gas keeping the conditions similar to the primitive atmosphere. After a week, amino acids and other complex molecules were observed by both. This experiment was able to form the result that non-cellular life forms were created millions of years ago as well as the existence of non-cellular molecules like DNA, RNA, proteins, and polysaccharides.
Ques. What is the theory of biogenesis? (2 marks)
Ans. The theory of biogenesis was proposed by Oparin and Haldane. It states that the formation of life was preceded by chemical evolution and new life originates from pre-existing non-cellular molecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, etc
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