04/13/2026
Things I didn’t know about butterflies before our visit to the wonderful native butterfly sanctuary in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico:
- some butterfly species are territorial and make clicking noises when fighting
- you can tell males and females apart by the width of their abdomens (male: long and thin, female: wide to hold the eggs)
- butterflies emerge from their chrysalis with their wings curled up and wait for them to unfurl before they are able fly away, they begin trying to mate immediately after
- bright coloured butterflies eat nectar (usually from flowers of the same colour) whereas dark coloured ones eat fruit that has fallen onto ground, in both cases they are well camouflaged from predators while eating
- butterflies in the wild usually only live for 1-2 weeks before they eaten by a predator (birds, spiders, scorpions or dragonflies) that is why we usually see them with bright colours. Older ones have faded wings or pieces missing and that is a normal part of their aging
If you are in Puerto Vallarta I’d definitely recommend spending a half day here, it was incredible! 🦋
