Di you ever hear the classic saying that butteflies don't eat at all,
and
wondered how they survive then?
There were times I wondered myself,
thinking maybe they only mate and live a very short life so the energy
resources last from the larvae stage.
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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.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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