You might be among the millions who enjoy watching a butterfly go about its life. Settling on a leaf and gently flapping its wings, it is a delicate thing of beauty. Often, this activity makes us think the butterfly is just taking a break, but it could be checking a plant for its potential as a home for butterfly eggs. How it does this test is a bit unusual…
Today’s Trivia Question
A female butterfly can “taste” a leaf to help select a plant for her caterpillars. What body part can she use to do this?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Bonus if you know the name for the butterfly’s long, coiled feeding tube.
| A Few More for Fun… |
Once the potential nursery passes inspection, the rest of a butterfly’s body has specific tasks, and then there are meals to consider.
What covers a butterfly’s wings and helps create their colors and patterns?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
| A Few More Trivia Questions Before You Go… |
Butterflies are enchanting and have inspired scientific expeditions, migration studies, and even a movie character.
History
What naturalist and artist sailed to Suriname in 1699 to study insects and later published illustrations of their life cycles?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Geography
Movies
What animated film features Heimlich, a caterpillar with a hearty appetite and dreams of becoming a “beautiful butterfly”?
(pick one to reveal the answer)
Answers
| TODAY’S QUESTIONAnswer: B. Feet. Butterflies have chemical sensors on their feet that are able to detect substances on a plant’s surface. Females use them to gauge whether a leaf is a suitable food plant for their unhatched young. So, it’s safe to say they walk the menu before choosing. Bonus points if you knew the feeding tube is a proboscis that uncoils and draws up liquids like nectar. | |
| 01 | Answer: D. Tiny scales. The scales have pigments or feature microscopic structures that shift light, and both can produce patterns and colors that our eyes can detect. |
| 02 | Answer: B. Milkweed. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, and the caterpillars eat its leaves. Adult monarchs dine differently and sip nectar from an array of flowers. Leave it to kids to need a different menu. |
| 03 | Answer: C. Maria Sibylla Merian. She studied insects and plants in Suriname from 1699 to 1701 and published Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium in 1705. She recorded the transformations of creatures that many European readers had never seen, and she’d been at it for decades: her very first caterpillar book appeared in 1679! |
| 04 | Answer: B. Mexico. The eastern migratory population gathers in central Mexico, with some monarchs traveling up to 3,000 miles to reach their wintering grounds. |
| 05 | Answer: C. A Bug’s Life. Heimlich is one of the troupe of circus performers in the beloved Pixar film. He does get his wings, but he keeps his figure, leaving the wings a bit too small for his skyward ambitions. Butterflies can fly thousands of miles, inspect food with their feet, uncoil a delicate feeding tube to sip nectar, and enchant us with their beauty. They transform so dramatically it is easy to forget that one winged wonder overhead was also a crawling caterpillar below. |
How did you do? Score 1 point for each correct answer and 1 point for the bonus if you knew it. Perfect score: 7.
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