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Insects in the Berkshire Backyard

Butterflies are just one of the captivating kinds of insects that you will find in the Berkshire Backyard Gallery.

Butterflies

Butterflies

Butterflies

Some butterflies are pollinators, and just as important as bees, wasps, other insects, and birds. They and their caterpillar larvae are links in the food chain -- caterpillars eat plants, while birds, frogs, and other insects eat caterpillars and butterflies.

Butterflies also brighten our world, induce us to see and empathize with the fragile and the exquisite. Butterflies were thought by the ancient Greeks to represent the souls of humans. The word psyche was used for both butterfly and soul.

Among the hundreds of insects on display in the Berkshire Backyard, visitors can find fascinating species like the walking stick, renowned for its amazing camouflage; ephemeral creatures like the mayfly, who live for only one day in their adult form; water bugs like the water strider, which can walk on the surface of the water, and the predaceous diving beetle, which can catch and eat small fish; the cranefly, a large mosquito look-alike; and the stag beetle, who sports an enormous pair of jaws.

Click here for a printable list of the insects displayed in the Berkshire Backyard. The numbers on the list correspond to the animals as they are labeled in the gallery.

For more information about butterflies:

The North American Butterfly Association
Beal Early Childhood Center's Butterfly Page

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