Sipping juice from rotting fruit ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Slurping gooey bird poop ~ ~ ~ ~ Drinking nectar from a flower Butterflies are all on a liquid diet. They must drink all their nutrition through their hollow straw-like tongue called a proboscis. Flowers are not the only source of food for these flying beauties. They will also obtain vitamins and minerals from mud puddles, rotting fruit, animal droppings and sticky tree sap. |
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| Black Swallowtail |
| Giant Swallowtail |
| Zebra Swallowtail |
| An osmeterium is a fleshy organ shaped like a snake tongue used as a defense mechanism by swallowtail caterpillars all over the world. Normally hidden behind the head, this structure can pop out very quickly and release a foul odor whenever the caterpillar feels threatened. These photos show several different colors of those smelly glands. We like to tickle them with a feather just to see their reaction! |
| Duskywing |
| Question Mark |
| Spicebush Swallowtail |
| Just Hanging Around There are 3 different ways a caterpillar may position itself before it pupates (forms a chrysalis). Each butterfly species has its own method. It will either (1) use silk to wrap up in a leaf (check out the picture of the duskywing caterpillar "sewing" a leaf together, (2) hang straight down while clinging to a patch of silk, or (3) strap itself to a stick or something using silk threads as a harness. It is very important that the caterpillars are not disturbed during this stage, because they can easily be injured or killed. |
| Black Swallowtail |
| Hickory Horned Devil |
| Giant Swallowtail |
| Butterfly and moth caterpillars have two different kinds of feet. The 3 pairs by the head in the front are like little claws that hold onto food while they are eating. The fleshy-looking ones along the body and on the rear end are covered with tiny hooks (think of Velcro) that let the caterpillar get-a-grip (even up-side down) on stems, sticks, leaves or whatever else it may be crawling on. Click on the photo and take a close look at the feet on the Hickory Horned Devil. They look like long fingers with black fingernails! |
| Butterfly eggs come in many different shapes, colors and textures. Some are round and smooth like a tiny pearl. Others are barrel-shaped with ridges or covered in bumps or dimples. Some butterflies lay their eggs one per leaf, while others arrange theirs in groups or stack them one on top of the other. These pictures are greatly magnified. In reality, these eggs are about the size of the zero on the date of a coin. Get out a penny and take a look at how small that is! |
Tiger Swallowtail
Question Mark butterfly
Pipevine Swallowtail
| Check out these Silver-spotted Skipper eggs. When the egg is brand new, it is cream-colored. After a couple of days it shows a red ring around the middle. In a few more days the egg becomes transparent and you can see the dark form of the caterpillar showing through the thin eggshell. Many butterfly eggs undergo these color changes as the egg matures. |
