FACT : Butterflies Taste With Their Feet. #CritterThursday
Butterflies and moths are part of the class of insects in
the order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are flying insects with large scaly wings.
Like all insects, they have six jointed legs and three body parts: the head,
the thorax and the abdomen. The wings are attached to the thorax and they also
have a pair of antennae, compound eyes and an exoskeleton.
The butterfly starts its life as an egg, laid on a leaf. The
caterpillar (larva) hatches from the egg and eats leaves or flowers. It loses
its skin many times as it grows, increasing greatly in size. Eventually it
turns into a pupa, or chrysalis and finally a beautiful adult butterfly emerges
and the cycle continues.
An adult butterfly has a very short life: just three to four
weeks. However, the entire life cycle of a butterfly can range between 2 and 8
months, depending on the species.
It might sound strange to us humans, but butterflies rely on
their feet to taste food. Their feet have taste sensors on them that help to
locate food for their caterpillars. They stand on a leaf and give it a taste.
If they determine the plant is something their caterpillars can eat, they’ll
lay their eggs in this spot. As for how butterflies themselves eat? They can’t
bite or chew. So butterflies use a long, tube-like tongue called a proboscis
(say "pro-boss-kiss") to eat. It works like a straw, allowing
butterflies to slurp up liquids like nectar, sap and juice from rotting fruit.
Butterflies are cold-blooded! They can’t fly if their body
temperature is less than 30 degrees Celsius.
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