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The United States of America covers a very large land area, and covers
a wide variety of ecosystems, from Arctic in Alaska to near-tropical in
the Southern States and tropical in Hawaii. Because there are
so many different environments, it's no surprise that there is an equally
large variety of insects and spiders. Some of them, like the
black widow spider, are famous around the world, but the great majority
are unfamiliar even to local residents.
Some butterfly species are found throughout the USA, but others are found
only in the warmer southern states, or the deserts of the south-west or
the forests of the north, so I'm going to create several pages to cover
the different regions. At the moment you'll have to make do
with one page, which describes the
butterflies of northern Illinois.
Butterflies and some moths are very obviously attractive, but most people
don't give much thought at all to the caterpillars which preceded them.
In fact, some of the caterpillars are more brightly colored and beautifully
patterned than their equivalent adult stage, as you'll see on my page of
caterpillars
of northern Illinois. |
