FOOD PLANTS FOR BUTTERFLIES Biology Diagrams When this proboscis is not being used, it is curled-up like a garden hose. Who eats butterflies, skippers, and moths? Both the larva caterpillars and flying adults become meals for a variety of carnivores and omnivores including wasps, birds, snakes, frogs and toads, lizards, dragonflies, and even rats. Draw a food chain, or more complex Butterflies have evolved to fill particular niches in their ecosystems as pollinators and part of the food chain. With populations declining, it's important to understand why butterflies matter. Many plants in your kitchen garden rely on pollination by animals like butterflies. some butterfly species also eat pest insects, like aphids
Additionally, butterflies serve as an indicator of a healthy environment. A garden that attracts butterflies will also attract native bees and birds, increasing biodiversity. However, butterflies are also low-level members of the food chain, serving as a food source for birds, spiders, lizards, mice, bats, and other animals. The butterfly life cycle consists of four distinct stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and adult. Each stage has its own set of predators and food sources. Egg Stage: Vulnerable Beginnings. Butterfly eggs are tiny and often laid on the underside of leaves, providing some protection from predators like ants, ladybugs, and
Pollinator Quest Biology Diagrams
They are hungry insects that eat often and will usually visit the same place to get food. Butterflies use their sense of smell and sight to find food. They are drawn to bright, colorful, and sweet things. How to feed butterflies? To attract butterflies in your butterfly garden, make a butterfly feeder out of sugar water. Plant zinnias Managing your garden for butterflies can help conserve butterfly populations as well as greatly enhance a traditional garden. There are about 750 butterfly and skipper species in North America and about ten times that number of moths. Butterflies, moths, and skippers combined form the order of insects named Lepidoptera, meaning "scaly winged." Below are more detailed definitions of the bold terms above related to the food web and other pages on this website. Food Web: A combination of different food chains that interconnect forming a network.; Food Chain: The progression line of higher animal/organism members eating lower members for energy.; Community: Plants and animals living together within the same environmental conditions.
Planning a Butterfly Garden. You need only a small garden bed to create an inviting oasis for butterflies. Both butterflies and plants like sun so plan your garden with a southern exposure or in a site that gets at least six hours of sun each day. * Nectar flowers provide a source of food for adult butterflies. Butterflies are attracted to
