butterflys

Butterflies don't actually eat anything

That's right, butterflies don't eat anything and don't possess the mouth organs to do so. They can only drink, using a long protruding tube called a proboscis. In fact, this is one of the first parts of a butterfly's body to develop during metamorphosis. You may see butterflies fresh from metamorphosis testing out their proboscis by uncoiling it and coiling it back up again repeatedly.

Butterflies mostly drink nectar as you would imagine, but they also drink from muddy puddles, rotten fruit and even dead animal carcasses. Nectar provides them with the glucose they need for energy, but other liquids are necessary at times to provide them with minerals and salts.

Interestingly, they don't defecate either. Although caterpillars eat almost constantly and excrete frequently, butterflies do not have the means to do so. Occasionally a butterfly drinks too much nectar and sprays a fine liquid from their abdomen, but this liquid is almost pure water.