What is a butterfly?
Butterflies belong to INSECTS, which is the largest, most varied group of animals.
The main features of these animals have in common are:

• 6 legs
• one pair of antennae
• a segmented  body in which three body parts, a head, a thorax and an abdomen can be distinguished.

Insects are further divided into 30 orders, the main basis of classification being their wing structure.
Butterflies belong to, alongside with moths to an order called Lepidoptera.

What do Lepidoptera and Papilionoidea mean?
Butterflies and moths together are called Lepidoptera – in the classification of insects, Lepidoptera is the order or “niche” for them both. Their wings are covered with tiny scales and that is where the name “Lepidoptera” comes from.
Butterflies alone are called Papilionoidea – which is the superfamily of butterflies.
In some older classifications another superfamily, Hesperioidea (the Skippers) were regarded as butterflies, but these days they are excluded because of their closer resemblance to Moths.

What are Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae and Lycaenidae?
They are the names of the four butterfly families that together make up Papilionoidea, the superfamily of butterflies. You may see other classifications where Nymphalidae (Brushfoots) are concerned; they are often divided into Satyridae, Danainae, Nymphalidae and Libytheidae. This website however chooses to regard them as one family as they have one dominant characteristic in common: they have only 4 functional legs; their first pair of legs is redundant when it comes to being in motion. Papilionidae (Swallowtails) present great variety of colour, shape and size. They are often recognised of their tails, although in many species they are missing. Pieridae (Whites, Sulphurs and Yellows) do not have tails. They are a widespread group often found at ecological and geographical extremes of animal life. Some species migrate. Lycaenidae (Hairstreaks, Coppers and Blues) are a large family of small butterflies. They are generally gregarious and live locally.

How many butterfly species are there worldwide?
It depends how the count is made exactly and how the different species and subspecies are treated in the count. In a careful estimate, there are about 14 750 known butterfly species worldwide.

Why do butterflies have colourful wings?
Most butterflies are active in daytime. They have good eyesight. Visual attraction is the major way to attract their opposite sex. The more outstanding they look, the higher chance they win the appreciative of their sex partner and the better chance they will have more offspring.  For the butterflies lift style, evolution favor their beauty.
Moths are very close related with butterflies and have the similar body structure. They have large wings and scales. However most moths are active at night. Visual attraction is not so important to them. So most moths are not look beautiful and dull in colour. Interestingly, there are some moths active at daytime they are very colourful and sometimes considered they are butterflies.
Actually, not all butterflies are beautiful. Some butterflies species active after sunset, like the Evening Brown Butterflies, are not so beautiful. Their wings patterns look rather like a moth. Like moths, active at night, and they attract their opposite sex not by visual attraction but by some other means such as fragrance.

What is Mimicry?
The colouring plays an important part in the self-defence of the butterfly. The eye-spots are a familiar pattern on the wings, mimicking the eyes of a larger animal, thus scaring smaller predators away.
Butterflies that are coloured bright red or bright yellow are usually poisonous or at least taste bad to the predator. After eating such a butterfly the predator comes ill and in the future they will avoid butterflies coloured like that, thanks to remembering the bad experience. On the other hand, many flashy butterflies have dull coloured undersides that help them to hide from the predators. With wings closed, they are barely noticeable.
There is also a phenomenon called MIMICRY. When the caterpillars feed on poisonous plants the poison stays in their bodies even through the pupal stage onto the adult butterfly. These butterflies (For example, The Monarch) always have a striking colour pattern on their wings and it protects this butterfly from the predators. Other butterflies that are not poisonous or inedible utilize this by looking the poisonous type. This is called mimicry. Sometimes two or more inedible species use the same colour pattern to maximise the poisonous effect and thus its protection. But at the same time and probably for the credibility of the pattern only the females of some of the edible species are protected by mimicry. Should too many edible butterflies carry a poisonous pattern, its protection would be lost. This is why in some species the males look completely different from the females.

What does give a butterfly its colour and sheen?
The hollow, pigmented scales that cover the wings of the butterfly (a bit like roof tiles) give a butterfly its colours. The sheen comes from the structure and the arrangement of the scales on the wings. A special reflection of the light is created, giving the wings a metallic glow.

 
What is the purpose of the butterfly's life?
The purpose of the butterfly’s life is to reproduce, to maintain life.

How long do butterflies live for?
By marking butterflies then recapturing or sighting them later scientists gain information on how long butterflies can live. An average butterfly species has an adult life span of 2 weeks or less.

Where do our butterflies come from?
Most of our butterflies are common species in the jungle of Peru, as the commoner ones are bred more easily in large numbers by the butterfly farms in this country. All of the species we have are captive bred, originating from South America.

What are the differences between a butterfly and a moth?
Butterflies and moths are very similar. There are some basic differences but as ever, there are exceptions to just about every rule.

• Butterflies generally rest with their wings folded, above the body, perpendicular to the ground. Moths usually rest with their wings folded along their body.
• Most butterflies have antennae which are clubbed at the end, whereas the moth's antennae are pointed or feathered.
• Butterflies fly in the daytime and so do some moths, but the majority of moths fly at night.
• Butterfly caterpillars are extremely fussy about which plant they feed on - moth caterpillars will generally eat a variety of plants.

Can you send me a paper catalog?
We chose the internet as our catalog because of the dynamic nature of butterfly stock. We can have plenty of a specific butterfly one day, sell them all the next and not be able to restock for as long as a year! Also, we add so many new items regularly that paper can't keep up! Please email us with any special requests.

Where do you get the butterflies? I'm not sure I like the idea of collecting a wild butterfly. Doesn't that harm the environment?
Butterfly collecting is a fantastic thing to do to preserve rainforest and support indigenous people. It actually saves the wild butterfly population, too.

How long will it take to ship my order?
For the majority of real butterfly orders, about 16 business days. We create them as they are ordered. Preparing the butterflies for display is very time intensive. We will notify you by email if we feel there will be an unusual delay. Occasionally, a particular butterfly becomes suddenly unavailable. We stock ahead of orders most of the time, but sometimes our customers all select the same things! If either should happen, and your item becomes unavailable before we do our daily update, we'll email you before you are charged, with your options. Insect shop items ship in 3 business days. If you order both at the same time, they ship together when the display is ready.

How long will my butterflies last?
Years, if you care for them carefully. Instructions for care will come with your order.

Do you gift wrap?
We can't because we have to pack the butterflies very carefully for protection during shipment. If you choose to wrap the butterfly after you receive it, we suggest that use the original wrapping inside a box or gift bag. Static cling from friction can damage your butterfly.The pink foam wrapping you will receive is a static guard. During checkout you may purchase a hand-written greeting card with your sentiment, and butterfly tissue paper for gift bag stuffing.

I can't decide what color butterfly to purchase. I think I want it to match my decor, can you make a suggestion?
We have found that the best looking displays are done in contrast to your decor colors. If you pick an acrylic display, this is very important because your wall or shelf will be the color seen through the box. For example, if you pick a yellow butterfly and have a similarly colored yellow or beige wall, the butterfly will fade away into the wall. If you put the yellow butterfly on a white or navy wall, it will be more more attractive. If you decide on a scientific mount collection, your decor colors are not an issue because they all have a white polyester batting background. They make a great choice for wallpaper or a heavily patterned area like a shelf or desk. We sell a lot of our easels for desk of shelf display of scientific mounts. The acrylic flights all stand on their own.

Do you create custom pieces?
Email us using the "Contact Us" page, or directly: sales@decorbutterfly.com.

Why are the antennae and bodies removed on the butterflies in acrylic?
We have learned, by trial and error that it is possible that they will break off inside the box ruining your display. All of the morpho's must have their bodies removed because they contain a toxin that will destroy the wings over time.

Can you sell unmounted specimens?
Go to the "Contact Us" page tell us what you want or email: sales@decorbutterfly.com. We'll let you know either way.

How do I clean the frame?

What is your return policy?
For detailed information, please select the merchant policy link at the bottom of every page on this site. All genuine butterfly items are final sale. They are too fragile to send back and forth. Since they are pieces of original art, some of them are created as they are ordered, that means you won't always receive the same butterfly as the picture shows. They are very good representations of what you will receive. Mother Nature creates our butterflies, allow for her slight differences, please! Our collections are refundable with insured return and prior authorization, email us first: sales@decorbutterfly.com. Any unauthorized return will be refused.