Butterflies are nectar feeders and require frequent access to the sugars and amino acids that nectar provides. How do they find the flowers and inflorescences that provide them with nectar, and how do they locate the nectar once they have arrived at a flower? Butterflies may be specialists, i.e. visiting only one, or a few…
Adult butterflies feed on a variety of fluids, including nectar, water, damp substrates (mud), rotting fruit, excrement and so on. The term ‘mud puddling’, or just puddling, is usually used to describe any sort of feeding that is not nectaring, i.e. feeding on flowers. Male butterflies in particular need to stock up on sodium and…
I spent some time observing and photographing Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete indica) butterflies feeding and courting on Bougainvillea flowers in Thailand. These beautiful and very common butterflies are often seen flitting around the tops of trees, coming down to feed on flowering plants later in the day (1, 2). Their ubiquity does not detract from their beauty.…
