What Do Butterflies Eat
So
what do butterflies eat?
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But then, butterflies do visit flowers, they are evn important pollinators, so what else would be the reason than eating??
Well the classic saying is a bit tricky as it hides the fact that butterflies do drink - they drink nectar.
But yes, they do not eat - not any flower, leaf or other plant parts, let alone any animal material. It is only the butterfly larvaes that eat - the only stage in the butterflies life cycle.
The main purpose of the adult stage, when a butterfly is actually a butterfly - is reproduction, so they do need the energy. Flying also takes a lot of energy. They get all that energy from the sweet nectar.
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They have a tube like mouth part, a bit like an elephant's trunk, and they use that to suck nectar out of the flowers.
It is handy to know how the nectar tastes before they put the trunk in, so their taste receptors are in their feet. As soon as they land on a flower they know how it tastes.
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In other words - the answer to the question what do butterflies eat is that they can only eat liquids, but that does not mean they are restricted to the nectar. They also drink the liquid from rotting fruit, also pollen, even dung and bird droppings, tree sap, water, and they even like savoury things since sodium is one of the minerals that is important for their reproduction. The can be seen eating minerals from the soil:
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The larvae stage - the caterpillars - are big eaters and they only eat leaves and other plant material.
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