Bernadine Michaluk, age 8, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for her question:

HOW MANY KINDS OF BUTTERFLIES ARE THERE?

Butterflies have lots of enemies. Birds, lizards, toads and frogs eat both butterflies and caterpillars. Spiders catch lots of butterflies in their webs and many are eaten by mantids and dragonflies. Certain kinds of flies and wasps are the worst enemies. These insects lay their eggs on the caterpillar. When their eggs hatch, the larvae eat the caterpillar.

Butterflies win all the prizes for beauty and grace in the insect family. It's a joy to watch a butterfly flutter from one flower to another. And the flight is beneficial, too. As a butterfly moves from one plant to another, it is carrying pollen which will make it possible for the flowers to turn into seeds or fruit.

Butterflies and moths make up the second largest order in the animal. The only group ahead of them are the beetles.

There are about 90,000 different kinds of moths and butterflies on earth. They can be found in all parts of the world, including the North and South Pole areas and even on the tops of mountains. Some are desert dwellers while others like the hot jungles near the equator. Some travel thousands of miles each year to spend winter in warm places.

Some butterflies live for nearly a year while others live for only a few weeks.

All butterflies and moths started their lives as wormlike creatures called caterpillars. Butterflies lay eggs which hatch into caterpillars and these later develop back into butterflies. During the caterpillar stage of life the creature eats leaves and fruit, and often does harm to crops. As a butterfly, however, he will limit his diet to nectar from flowers since he cannot bite or chew.

Butterflies actually go through four stages of development: the egg, larva or caterpillar stage, the pupa and then the adult.

The pupa stage starts after the caterpillar has reached full growth. From his spinneret, a small button of silk is secreted on a twig or the underside of a leaf. Then a complicated process lets the pupa form inside the caterpillar. Next comes a 10 day period when the pupa hangs in a hard shell covering and goes through a process of metamorphosis. The structures of the caterpillar change to those of the butterfly.

In most cases, the wings of the butterfly  act as both the  lifters and the propellers when it comes to flying.  The front edge of the wings is rigid. The rear edge and outer margins of the wings move more easily and bend when the butterfly strokes the air in flight.

The bending action of the wing pushes the air backward, and moves the butterfly forward. The thick front margins of the wings serve as airfoils, like the wings of an airplane. They give the butterfly "lift" as it flies forward.