In the Tampa Bay area’s subtropical climate, butterflies can thrive among many varieties of plants, and most live their entire lives around plants like those in this garden habitat, which attract and feed several kinds of butterflies. There are about 28,000 species of butterflies, including about 160 species in Florida. Butterflies do not bite or carry disease. Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera, combining Greek words meaning “scales” and “wings,” and they are the only insects with scale-covered wings. Florida’s official butterfly is the Zebra Longwings (Heliconius charitonius). Butterflies must have a body temperature above 88 degrees Fahrenheit to fly, and some can fly faster than 30 miles per hour, while slower butterflies generally fly about five miles per hour. In addition to drinking plant nectar, butterflies use plants as shelter at night and during bad weather, and they can only drink water from wet sand or soil.