Caterpillars often, but not always, have several pairs of true legs, along with several pairs of false legs or prolegs. A caterpillar's primary activity is eating. They have a voracious appetite and eat almost constantly. As the caterpillar continues to eat, its body grows considerably. The tough outer skin or exoskeleton, however, does not grow or stretch along with the enlarging caterpillar.
Instead, the old exoskeleton is shed in a process called molting and it is replaced by a new, larger exoskeleton. A caterpillar may go through as many as four to five molts before it becomes a pupa. The third stage is known as the pupa or chrysalis. The caterpillar attaches itself to a twig, a wall or some other support and the exoskeleton splits open to reveal the chrysalis.
The chrysalis hangs down like a small sack until the transformation to butterfly is complete. The casual observer may think that because the pupa is motionless that very little is going on during this "resting stage.
The pupa does not feed but instead gets its energy from the food eaten by the larval stage. Depending on the species, the pupal stage may last for just a few days or it may last for more than a year.
Many butterfly species overwinter or hibernate as pupae. The fourth and final stage of the life cycle is the adult. Once the chrysalis casing splits, the butterfly emerges. It will eventually mate and lay eggs to begin the cycle all over again. Most adult butterflies will live only a week or two, while a few species may live as long as 18 months. Images in this section are of the life cycle of the black swallowtail on one of its host plants, fennel.
Butterflies are complex creatures. Their day-to-day lives can be characterized by many activities. If you are observant you may see butterflies involved in many of the follow activities.
To observe some activities, such as hybernation, may involve some detective work. To observe other activities such as basking, puddling, or migrating, you will need to be at the proper place at the proper time. Keep an activity log and see how many different butterflies you can spot involved in each activity. The information from the individual butterfly pages may give you some hints as to where or on what plants some of these activities are likely to occur.
The larval or caterpillar stage and the adult butterfly have very different food preferences, largely due to the differences in their mouth parts. Both types of foods must be available in order for the butterfly to complete its life cycle.
Caterpillars are very particular about what they eat, which is why the female butterfly lays her eggs only on certain plants. She instinctively knows what plants will serve as suitable food for the hungry caterpillars that hatch from her eggs. Caterpillars don't move much and may spend their entire lives on the same plant or even the same leaf! Their primary goal is to eat as much as they can so that they become large enough to pupate.
Caterpillars have chewing mouth parts, called mandibles, which enable them to eat leaves and other plant parts. Some caterpillars are considered pests because of the damage they do to crops. Caterpillars do not need to drink additional water because they get all they need from the plants they eat. Adult butterflies are also selective about what they eat. Unlike caterpillars, butterflies can roam about and look for suitable food over a much broader territory.
In most cases, adult butterflies are able to feed only on various liquids. They drink through a tube-like tongue called a proboscis. It uncoils to sip liquid food, and then coils up again into a spiral when the butterfly is not feeding. Most butterflies prefer flower nectar, but others may feed on the liquids found in rotting fruit, in ooze from trees, and in animal dung.
Butterflies prefer to feed in sunny areas protected from wind. A recent University of Kentucky Department of Entomology study compared four commonly available zinnia cultivars with regard to their attractiveness to butterflies.
Butterflies are cold-blooded , meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature. As a result, their body temperature changes with the temperature of their surroundings. If they get too cold, they are unable to fly and must warm up their muscles in order to resume flight.
If the temperature drops too low, they may seek a light colored rock, sand or a leaf in a sunny spot and bask. Butterflies bask with their wings spread out in order to soak up the sun's heat.
When butterflies get too hot, they may head for shade or for cool areas like puddles. Some species will gather at shallow mud puddles or wet sandy areas, sipping the mineral-rich water. Generally more males than females puddle and it is believed that the salts and nutrients in the puddles are needed for successful mating. Patrolling and perching. Inoue T. Sugar receptor response of the food-canal taste sensilla in a nectar-feeding swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus.
Johnson S. Long-Tongued fly pollination and evolution of floral spur length in the Disa draconis complex Orchidaceae Evolution. Kennedy H. Costa Rican Natural History. Knopp M. Krenn H. Functional morphology and movements of the proboscis of Lepidoptera Insecta Zoomorphology. Proboscis sensilla in Vanessa cardui Nymphalidae, Lepidoptera : functional morphology and significance in flower-probing.
Proboscis musculature in the butterfly Vanessa cardui Nymphalidae, Lepidoptera : settling the proboscis recoiling controversy. Acta Zoologica Stockholm ; 81 — Feeding mechanisms of adult Lepidoptera: structure, function, and evolution of the mouthparts. Annual Review of Entomology.
Evolution of proboscis musculature in Lepidoptera. European Journal of Entomology. Mouthparts of Heliconius butterflies Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae : a search for anatomical adaptations to pollen-feeding behavior. International Journal of Insect Morphology and Embryology.
Mouthparts of flower-visiting insects. Proboscis morphology and food preferences in nymphalid butterflies Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae Journal of Zoology. Kristensen N. DeGruyter Walter; Handbook of Zoology. Kunte K. Allometry and functional constraints on proboscis lengths in butterflies. Functional Ecology. Miller W. Nagnan-Le Meillour P. Chemosensory proteins from the proboscis of Mamestra brassicae. Chemical Senses. Nilsson L. Angraecoid orchids and hawkmoths in central Madagascar: specialized pollination systems and generalist foragers.
The evolution of flowers with deep corolla tubes. Monophily and pollination mechanisms in Angraecum arachnites Schltr. Orchidaceae in a guild of long-tongued hawk-moths Sphingidae in Madagascar. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Paulus H. Pauw A. Pellmyr O. Yuccas, yucca moths, and coevolution: a Review. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Origin of a complex key innovation in an obligate insect-plant mutualism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Pernstich A. Preparation of serial sections of arthropods using 2,2-dimethoxypropane dehydration and epoxy resin embedding under vacuum.
Biotechnic and Histochemistry. Petr D. Comparative morphology of sensilla styloconica on the proboscis of North American Nymphalidae and other Selected Taxa Lepidoptera : systematic and ecological considerations.
Transactions of the American Entomological Society. Pischtschan E. Setting-up tension in the style of Marantaceae. Plant Biology. Romeis B. Urban Schwarzenberg; Wien: Mikroskopische Technik. Wannenmacher G. Contribution of the maxillary muscles to proboscis movement in hawkmoths Lepidoptera: Sphingidae - an electrophysiological study.
Journal of Insect Physiology. Whittall J. Pollinator shifts drive increasingly long nectar spurs in columbine flowers. Support Center Support Center. External link. Consequently, butterflies often continue visiting these puddling sites until they are nearly dry. How much do you know about butterflies? Take this quick quiz and see. How do butterflies taste? A monarch butterfly larva gains approximately how many times its weight during a two-week feeding frenzy? What is the minimum temperature butterflies need in order to fly?
At what temperature are butterflies most actively flying? How many butterfly species reside in North America? How many stages of life does a butterfly have? How do butterflies communicate? Special taste receptors located on their feet allow adult butterflies to "feet taste" the flowers for nectar or sample the leaves for a plant's suitability as a host plant on which the female can lay her eggs. All butterflies go through a complete metamorphosis.
These four stages of life begin as egg, followed by the larva caterpillar , the pupa stage chrysalis , then the adult. Most species communicate with one another through chemical cues, though a few species, such as the male cracker butterfly, communicate by making loud noises with their wings. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
All rights reserved About Us. This spacing is thought to allow the tongue some flexibility and help fluids go into the tube.
The spacing allows for the tongue's surface in between the plates like a sponge absorbing fluids which explains how butterflies can sponge up water from soil and poo.
The inside zipper bits have hooks that are tightly locked and closely spaced. The cells of these zipper bits are thought to have capillary action that aids in fluid movement. The combination of the spongy spaces and capillary action inside makes the butterfly proboscis more like a combo sponge and sippy straw. You can read more in the journal article by Monaenkova and Lehnert et. They created some very clever tests for their research.
Butterflies are intrinsically beautiful and interesting. I've only begun to scratch the surface in this post. Stay tuned for future posts about barometers and taste buds in their feet!
Advanced features of this website require that you enable JavaScript in your browser. Thank you! Here's a picture of what I observed: Swallowtail butterfly drinking from dung Photo: K.
Butterfly tongue Photo: Wiki Commons There's some awesome science behind how a a butterfly proboscis and how it drinks. Butterfly dung sipping Photo: K.
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