butterflies | Ask Dr. Universe | Washington State University

^{Ask Dr. Universe} _butterflies

University Communications Network > Ask Dr. Universe > butterflies

Do butterflies have meat in their bodies? – Fiona, 4, Iowa

September 12, 2024 melissamayer

Dear Fiona,

When I was a kitten, I loved chasing butterflies. It’s fun to run after them as they flit and flutter.

But I didn’t eat them.

I asked my friend Rich Zack if that was an oversight. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.

He told me that insects are animals with muscles just like other animals that people eat—like cows and chickens.

“Insect muscle tissue is almost exactly the same as mammalian muscle tissue,” Zack said. “So, if there were a way to get that muscle tissue and process it, you could eat an insect steak or an insect hamburger.”

What are butterfly cocoons made of? — Anabelle, 8, Massachusetts

August 24, 2023 melissamayer

Dear Anabelle,

When I was a kit, I looked a lot like the adult cat I would become—even though I was smaller and fluffier. But wiggly caterpillars don’t look like butterflies at all.

I talked about this with my friend Allan Felsot. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.

He told me cocoons are mostly silk. But they’re usually made by moths. A butterfly “cocoon” isn’t really a cocoon at all. It’s called a chrysalis.

Dear Dr. Universe: Why do flowers smell so nice? – Miles, 5

April 4, 2019 rcwebber

Flowers not only smell nice to humans, but also to many insects and birds who help the flowers do a really important job. Let’s imagine that you are a bee or a butterfly. You don’t have a nose on your face, but instead use your two antennae to smell things. As you fly around, you catch a whiff of chemicals floating in the air. Down below, you see a field of daisies. The flowers are releasing some chemicals, which are the building blocks of a smell. Read More ...

How far can monarch butterflies fly? -Roarna, 9, New Zealand

November 16, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Roarna,

When cold winters come around, thousands of monarch butterflies begin a long journey in search of warmer weather. Some will fly more than 2,200 miles to find it.

I saw a caterpillar and a butterfly in the neighbor's yard. So my question is, what exactly happens inside the little sack they're in while they transform into a butterfly and HOW exactly do they do it? -Eston

April 6, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Eston,

Springtime sets the stage for one of the greatest transformations in the natural world.

“It’s the construction of a butterfly or moth from caterpillar soup,” said my friend David James, an entomologist at Washington State University. James studies the science behind metamorphosis, or how a creature transforms.