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Michigan's Insects
Michigan's insects
Karner Blue butterfly
Karner blues are small butterflies about the size of a nickel. Males have a vibrant, silvery blue color on the upper surface of their wings. The upper surfaces of the females' wings are blue close to the body, fading to grayish-brown towards the edges. The wing undersides of both sexes is light gray to grayish-brown with rows of small black spots. A single row of metallic blue-green, orange, and black spots rims the outer edges of the underside of each wing, but is most distinct on the hind wings.
Mitchell's Satyr butterfly
The Mitchell's satyr (Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii, pronounced say-ter) is one of the world's rarest butterflies, found only in Michigan and Indiana. Mitchell's satyr is a dark, chocolate brown, medium-sized butterfly with a wing span that ranges from 1.5 to 1.75 inches (3.8 to 4.4 centimeters). The undersides of the wings contain a row of four to five black, yellow-ringed eyespots, with the central three eyespots on the hindwing being the largest. Two orange bands encircle the eyespots.
Monarch butterfly
Monarch butterflies are of the most recognizable and beloved butterfly in North and Central America. Millions of monarchs migrate across the United States; spending their summers in Michigan and winters in Mexico. Despite the small size of monarch butterflies and other insects, they play a very large role in human's lives. Insects travel to flowering plants, drinking nectar and transporting pollen. This results in a pollination service that is responsible for 1/3 of the world's food source.
MSU entomology information
The Michigan State University Department of Entomology provides a variety of resources through their Bug House. More information can be found on the Bug House website.