How long do butterflies live?
Opler and Krizek discuss this difficult question in Butterflies East of the Great Plains, where they state that the expected life span, which is usually much shorter than the maximum life span (because of weather, predators, and many other factors), ranges from about 2 to 14 days. Maximum life span ranges from about 4 days for the Spring Azure to 10 to 11 months for the Mourning Cloak. Just as with people, females generally live longer than males. Butterflies which hibernate or go into reproductive diapause also tend to live longer.
In the Peterson Field Guide, Eastern Butterflies, by Opler and Malikul, they state that butterflies have variable lifespans and even different generations can have different average lifespans. The monarchs that fly to Mexico can live up to seven months while the adults of the summer generations only live a few weeks. Butterflies that hibernate such as anglewings and mourning cloaks can live six months. Dry season butterflies in Florida can live a couple of months. Most butterflies live only a few days to a couple of weeks. The maximal lifespan is usually much longer than the normal lifespan because of predation.
Different butterfly species have different adult potential life spans. By marking butterflies then recapturing or sighting them later scientists gain information on how long butterflies can live. An average butterfly species has an adult life span of 2 weeks or less. For example one butterfly studied in Costa Rica had a life expectancy of about 2 days, and live 10 days at the most. No adult butterfly can live more than a year. The Mourning Cloak adult and some related tortoiseshells and anglewings that hatch in early summer may live almost a year. It over winters as an adult and then waits to court, mate and lay eggs the following spring or early summer. Monarchs and Swallowtails may live about a month in the summer, but the Monarchs that migrate to Mexico or the California coast may live up to 6 months. Some long-lived tropical butterflies live up to 6 months as adults. The long-life champion is a tiny yucca moth that feeds on Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata). Dr. Jerry Powell of the Univ
