Butterflies are one of the more noticeable Serengeti Insects. Flitting from branch to branch or flying below the grass layer of the woodlands, butterflies are a common and beautiful sight.
Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers, thus providing their principal ecological function as pollinators. Some, however, eat rotten fruits, tree sap, or the secretions from ant cows (Homoptera).

Butterflies grow through several life stages before they become the brightly colored adult. Adult females lay eggs on plant leaves either singly or as huge masses. The larvae that emerge after anywhere from a week to a year begin immediately to feed on the plant leaves. In the course of the next few weeks, the caterpillar will increase in size almost a thousand times, to become, in the case of the swallow-tailed butterflies almost five inches long. As the caterpillar grows, it sheds its skin several times, each time to emerge larger and hungrier. Each stage of the insects life is called an "instar".
When the final caterpillar instar is reached, it spins a silken cocoon and undergoes a metamorphosis into the adult form. The adult emerges after several weeks, looking wet and confused. After several minutes, the butterfly pumps a blood-like fluid into its wings and inflates them to their adult size. After letting the wings dry, the butterfly sets off in search of food and mates.

Life for a butterfly can be very dangerous. As a caterpillar, a large group of animals would like to eat it, including lizards, birds, beetles and parasitic wasps. Wasps lay an egg on the caterpillar, which hatches and the wasp-larvae burrows into the caterpillar to devour it from the inside. As a result, the caterpillars have developed a series of defenses. Some of these include hiding, camouflage coloring, toxic hairs, and odd relationships with ants. Ants are fooled into helping the caterpillars because the caterpillars release pheromones, or information chemicals, which tell the ants to help. If you ever see a hairy or spinney caterpillar, avoid it as the hairs can break off and cause rashes and stinging.