Greg Bowies, Age 1p., Of Orinda., Calif.., For his question:

Were there butterflies in prehistoric times?

The scaly winged insects got their start in the jurassic period of earth's history  which means that they have been here close to 150 million years.. These insects are the velvety winged moths and butterflies of the order lepidoptera.

Termites developed some 200 million years ago at thesame time as the mayflies and the cicadas. In those ancient days, there were dragonflies with gauzy wings four feet wide. The very first insects developed in the carboniferous period, about 250 million years ago.