Living organisms are classified into two types: vertebrates and invertebrates. It helps distinguish different types of organisms and put them into separate groups, making their identification easier. Accordingly, butterflies are placed in an insect group that belongs to a category of invertebrates.
Are Butterflies Vertebrates or Invertebrates? Butterflies are invertebrates because they have simpler nervous systems, external exoskeletons, compound eyes, small and soft bodies, open circulatory systems, and radial symmetry. They do not have lungs and backbone that are present in vertebrates.
Butterflies belong to animals that constitute almost 95% of the total organisms on the Earth and are classified as invertebrates. In addition, they are placed in Class Insecta and Order Lepidoptera, consisting of moths and butterflies only.
However, their color vision and bilateral symmetry make them similar to vertebrates. In the same way, both have complex sensory organs to detect odors, see colors, and hear sounds. These colorful insects also undergo metamorphosis, like frogs.
Absence of backbone
Butterflies lack a backbone or spinal cord in their bodies. This feature distinguishes these flying insects from vertebrates because they possess a backbone.
This vertebral column is part of their internal skeleton and helps maintain a posture. However, they have smaller bodies, so they do not have to maintain any accurate posture to stand.
The term “invertebrates” explains that these organisms lack a vertebral column, so the absence of a spinal cord in butterflies indicates that they are not vertebrates.
Simple nervous system
Their nervous system is simpler than higher vertebrates as they cannot hold a complex brain in their small bodies. They rely on a simpler nervous system to coordinate their activities.
They do not have specialized organs to perform specific functions, like thinking, moving, breathing, seeing, and other activities.
They can see, move, and breathe, but these functions are not performed with incredible coordination, as in vertebrates. Their brain is less complex, and they cannot feel complex emotions.
Jealousy, pride, guilt, etc., are complex emotions not present in butterflies as they have a simpler nervous system, while they have emotions of fear, anger, and surprise.
External skeleton
They do not have the internal skeleton or endoskeleton usually present in vertebrates. They lack bones to keep their bodies in shape but possess an exoskeleton.
An external skeleton or hard layer of chitin material keeps their bodies in shape. This chitin layer also helps protect them from physical damage by acting as a barrier to predators.
Moreover, it also helps keep their body temperature at an ideal level by covering soft muscular bodies. The absence of bony skeletons inside the body makes them different from higher vertebrates.
Small and lighter body
They cannot grow as large as vertebrates because their external exoskeletons restrict their body from growing bigger. They can undergo a few molting stages to grow from egg to adult.
However, their adults are also small, as they can be almost 12 inches long at maximum. In the same way, they are light in weight compared to organisms with spinal cords in their bodies.
On average, the body weight of butterflies is almost 0.04 to 0.3g, which seems lighter than the larger vertebrates. They are classified as insects due to their three-segmented bodies and more than two legs.
In addition, their small and lightweight bodies support flying behavior because vertebrates do not fly due to heavier bodies. They are placed in the Order Lepidoptera due to tiny scales on their wings.
Compound eyes
Butterflies have compound eyes that differ from camera-type or single-lens eyes in vertebrates. Their eyes contain multiple visual units that are known as ommatidia.
Each optical unit has photoreceptor cells and a lens to focus on the object and create an image. The ommatidia provide a view of their environment by focusing on different parts of the object.
Moreover, their compound eyes cannot provide detailed images of an object, but their optical units help detect the changes in the external environment.
However, their large compound eyes provide a panoramic view and help them to navigate their surroundings. Their eyes also help them find food and detect threats.
Open circulatory system
Another feature of invertebrates is the open circulatory system because they do not have a heart or blood-pumping organ to clean the blood and pass it to other body parts.
Their smaller bodies cannot accommodate a large heart and possess a tubular heart. Similarly, they do not have blood vessels to carry their blood to and from the heart to other body organs.
In addition, they lack capillaries, veins, and arteries that are present in vertebrates and carry the blood. They do not have red blood in their bodies, as yellowish hemolymph is present.
This hemolymph fluid lacks red blood cells and hemoglobin protein but performs functions similar to blood. It bathes tissues and organs directly due to the absence of blood vessels in insects.
Soft muscular bodies
Butterflies have soft and muscular bodies because they do not have hard bones. They lack rigidity like higher vertebrates, but the chitin layer on their bodies provides a rigid structure to them.
The thorax region contains strong muscles because their wings are attached to the second segment of the body. This region provides force for the up and down movement of wings.
The thorax muscles control the flapping movement of wings, so they eat protein-rich food to maintain their muscular bodies. Their soft bodies are prone to damage if there is no chitin.
Mode of feeding
Mode of feeding refers to the eating habits of butterflies that are autotrophic, heterotrophic, and parasitic in different stages of their lifecycle.
They consume plant and animal-based food at the caterpillar stage due to the presence of teeth in their mouth. They can efficiently chew prey bodies and cut leaf chunks efficiently.
However, their dietary habits are autotrophic when they mature or become adults. They feed primarily on nectar and consider rotting or ripening fruits, too.
Some have a parasitic mode of nutrition as they attack Myrmica ants, but most of their diet comprises plant-based food, mainly nectar.
Absence of lungs
Their respiration mechanism differs from higher organisms or vertebrates because they lack lungs to breathe. They have spiracles on the sides of their bodies to capture oxygen molecules.
These spiracles are small openings, providing an entry route to oxygen molecules. These tiny holes are connected to tracheal tubules to transfer oxygen to internal body tissues.
Moreover, butterflies do not need a large amount of oxygen to breathe; that’s why lungs are not required. After closing the spiracles, they can survive by storing oxygen molecules in the tracheal tubules.
Asexual and sexual reproduction
Their mode of reproduction indicates that they are not vertebrates because they can only reproduce sexually. However, butterflies can reproduce by both sexual and asexual reproduction.
Generally, they reproduce sexually and produce new butterflies after fertilization of egg and sperm. The male butterflies transfer sperm into the female body to fertilize the egg during mating.
Some species have asexual reproduction when the babies are clones of their mother. They lack genetic variation because an identical set of genes is present in them.
So, they are classified as invertebrates because these organisms, having no backbone, also reproduce asexually and sexually in different conditions.
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