BUTTERFLY VOTING CANDIDATE FACT SHEET

Prepared by Mrs. Vumbaco’s students

The first candidate is the Mourning Cloak.

Appearance: The Mourning Cloak can grow to be medium to large in size.  It is black and brown with yellow and blue spots.

Diet:  The Mourning Cloak eats rotting fruit and sap from oak trees.

Habitat:  The Mourning Cloak is seen in cities and villages throughout New York State.

Interesting Fact:  The Mourning Cloak is the first butterfly you see in the spring and the last one to disappear in the fall.  

Created by Carlos

YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE MOURNING CLOAK BUTTERFLY.

The second candidate is the Red Spotted Purple Admiral.

Appearance:  The Red spotted purple is blue and green on top and its underside is dark brown. It’s a very showy butterfly.

Diet:  It eats leaves, flowers, rotting fruit and sap oak. It also drinks sodium ions from mud puddles.

Habitat:  The Red Spotted Purple Admiral is found in forests, valley bottoms and coastal plains in southern New York State. 

One cool fact is that the Red Spotted Purple Admiral looks like the Pipevine Swallowtail.  Animals that eat this toxic insect get very sick, so predators do not hunt the Red Spotted Purple Admiral.

Created by Joe M. and Drew

YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE RED SPOTTED PURPLE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY.

The third candidate is the Black Swallowtail.

Appearance:  It has a black body with yellow spots. It is colorful with bands of blue and spots of red.

Diet:  It eats carrots, parsley, and dill, so it is found near gardens.

Habitat:  The Black swallowtail lives in New York State.

Interesting Fact:  This caterpillar tastes bad to birds and other predators.

Created by Emily and Steven

YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE BLACK SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY.

The fourth candidate is Milbert’s Tortoiseshell.

Appearance:  It’s colorful. It’s black with wide orange bands. The forewing tip is squared-off. The wingspan is 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches. 

Diet:  It eats flowers, sap and rotting fruit.

Habitat:  It lives in the northern part of the New York State.

Interesting Facts:  Sometimes the adults hibernate in small groups. Another fact is…It is viewable for much of the non-winter seasons, May-October, because it lives through the winter as a butterfly.

Created by Joe D. and Nino

YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE MILBERT’S TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY.

The final candidate is the Karner Blue butterfly.

Appearance:  The Karner-blue is a small butterfly. It is only 1 inch big. That is about the size of a postage stamp. The males are blue with brown or black and the females are less colorful with more gray and brown.

Diet:  The Karner Blue eats wild lupine.  This plant is found in large, open areas.

Habitat:  The Karner Blue is found from Southern New Hampshire to Wisconsin.  Ironically, the Karner Blue is found right in this area at the Pine Bush Preserve.  It is a butterfly right in our back yard!

Interesting Fact:  The Karner Blue is an endangered species in several states and is the only endangered species on this list. We need to protect the Karner Blue Butterfly!!!

Created by Alicia and Vittoria

YOU CAN VOTE FOR THE KARNER BLUE BUTTERFLY.

Back to the Butterfly Candidates' page.