How do butterflies taste with their feet? — Kalani, 12, Texas
melissamayer
Tastes are chemical signals. They’re picked up by gustatory (taste) receptors in some of the butterfly’s cells. Read More ...
Ask Dr. Universe
butterflies
Why are butterflies considered a pest by some farmers? — Opemipo, 11, Texas
melissamayerDear Opemipo,
We usually think of adult butterflies. Those fluttery insects flit from flower to flower. They sip nectar and move pollen. They’re beneficial insects. They help plants and people.
But baby butterflies are another story.
I talked about it with my friend Dowen Jocson. She’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.
Young butterflies or moths are larvae, or caterpillars. They hatch from an egg deposited near a plant. Then they get busy eating and growing.
Caterpillars have jaws adapted for chewing. Their munchy mouths will change when they transform into adult butterflies. Then, they’ll have a straw-like mouth for slurping up … » More …
Read More ...Do butterflies have meat in their bodies? – Fiona, 4, Iowa
melissamayerDear 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.”
Read More ...What are butterfly cocoons made of? — Anabelle, 8, Massachusetts
melissamayerDear 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.
Read More ...Dear Dr. Universe: Why do flowers smell so nice? – Miles, 5
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
rcwebberDear 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.
Read More ...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
rcwebberDear 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.
Read More ...