Page 187 - An Anthology of Intriguing Animals (DK)

Common blue morpho,
Central and South America

A

butterfly’s wings are made of thousands of tiny flakes called
scales. These overlap like the tiles on a roof and can be any

color of the rainbow. The common blue morpho is nearly the size of
a dinner plate, and it flashes in the sunlight like a jewel.

For mouths, butterflies have long drinking tubes to sip sweet
nectar from flowers. However, most of these insects don’t live long—

perhaps only a few days or weeks. Many lay eggs, then die. Each
egg hatches into a wormlike caterpillar, which eats and eats to

grow fatter. Finally, it makes itself a hard case called a chrysalis.
Safe inside, it rebuilds its body and comes out as a beautiful

adult butterfly.

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