Most of us love to see colorful butterflies fluttering in our garden. From tiny blue butterflies to giant phoenix butterflies, each has its own beauty. But how much do you really know about this insect? Check out 10 interesting things about butterflies with Pest-Solutions.
Most of us love to see colorful butterflies fluttering in our garden. From tiny blue butterflies to giant phoenix butterflies, each has its own beauty. But how much do you really know about this insect? Check out 10 interesting things about butterflies with Pest-Solutions.
1. Butterflies are nearsighted
In the range of 10-12 feet (3 meters - 3.2 meters), the eye can see butterflies quite well. Anything beyond that distance will be slightly blurred to the butterfly's eyes. Butterflies rely on their eyesight to do important tasks, like finding mates and finding nectar.
In addition to seeing some of the colors we can see, butterflies can see a wide range of ultraviolet colors invisible to the human eye. The butterflies themselves have UV markings on their wings that help them identify each other and find potential friends. The flowers also emit ultraviolet signals to signal to pollinators like butterflies – “pollinate me!”
2. Butterflies taste with their feet
Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet, which help them find hosts and food sources. A female butterfly perched on a tree, stomping on the leaves with her paw to make the leaves secrete juice.
The spines on its legs are chemical receptors, detecting plants that match their preferences. When the female has found a suitable plant, she lays eggs.
The butterfly touches food with its feet, using its soluble sugar receptors to taste food sources such as ferment such as fruit.
3. Butterflies almost exclusively eat liquids
Butterflies use straws to suck nectar
Unlike caterpillars that destroy leaves, adult butterflies only feed on liquids, usually nectar.
The mouth part is modified to allow them to drink bile, but cannot chew. With a spout at the mouth part, which functions as a water intake, they straighten out when sucking in nectar and curl back when not in use.
Some butterflies eat tree sap, and some even "cup" the decomposing plants.
4. Newly hatched adult butterflies have no proboscis
A butterfly that cannot drink nectar will surely die. The adult butterfly does not have a sucker, at this point its mouth is divided into 2 parts.
One of the first jobs of newly hatched butterflies is to ask for help from fellow butterflies. The adult butterfly will approach it and begin working with these two discrete parts to form a single tube, which will absorb water.
You can easily see butterflies helping each other in the garden.
5. Butterflies drink a lot of mud
A butterfly cannot live on sugar alone, it also needs minerals. To supplement their diet, butterflies will occasionally nibble on puddles of mud, which are rich in minerals and salts.
This behavior, known as puddling, occurs more frequently in male butterflies, which incorporate minerals into their sperm. These nutrients are then transferred to the female during mating, and help improve egg viability.
6. Butterflies can't fly if the weather is cold
Butterflies need an ideal temperature of about 85ºF (29ºC) to fly.
Since butterflies are cold-blooded animals, they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Ambient air temperature greatly affects their ability to function. If the air temperature is below 55ºF (13ºC), the butterfly becomes immobile, unable to run away from predators or find food.
When the air temperature ranges from 82º-100ºF (27ºC – 38ºC), butterflies can fly easily. On cooler days, the butterfly needs to make its body by flying slowly. When the temperature reaches 38ºC, butterflies also have difficulty because of the heat and find a cool place to hide.
7. Newly mature butterflies can't fly
Butterflies need time to stretch their wings
Unlike caterpillars that destroy leaves, adult butterflies only feed on liquids, usually nectar.
The mouth part is modified to allow them to drink bile, but cannot chew. With a spout at the mouth part, which functions as a water intake, they straighten out when sucking in nectar and curl back when not in use.
Some butterflies eat tree sap, and some even "cup" the decomposing plants.
8. Butterflies only live a few weeks
Once it emerges from the cocoon and matures into an adult, the butterfly has only two to four short weeks to live, which is characteristic of most butterflies.
During that time, it focuses all of its energy on two tasks – eating and mating. Tiny blues butterflies only live a few days, but monarch butterflies live up to 9 months.
9. Butterflies use many tricks to survive
Butterflies rank quite low in the food chain of carnivores. To survive in the dangerous natural world, butterflies use a number of tricks to stay alive.
Do you see the butterfly in this photo?
Some butterflies double their wings to blend in with the environment, tricking the eyes of predators. Others try the opposite strategy, using their vibrant colors to declare its presence. Brightly colored insects are often poisonous if ingested by animals, so predators learn to avoid them.
Color is also a weapon for butterflies to scare away enemies
Some butterflies, which are not toxic at all, still manage to appear aggressive, and this tactic worked when the predator left on suspicion of being poisonous.
10. Butterflies have transparent wings
This may seem a bit ridiculous when you look at the photo above, but it's true. The butterfly's wings are covered with thousands of transparent "scales", which reflect different colors.
