A monarch stopping by for a morning snack, nectar from a milkweed.
Morning snack
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Tag Archives: butterfly proboscis
Perfection
At the right place, at the right time again, and this time I had my camera, BONUS! This female monarch butterfly emerged with such a perfection it was mesmerizing to watch, even if I have seen it hundreds of times before.
I really enjoyed watching this female elongate her proboscis once I placed her on a red penta. As I have stated before, the proboscis acts as the butterfly’s straw. The strong muscles in the butterfly’s head will stretch its first part of the esophagus to sip the nectar from the flower.
When the butterfly first emerges, the proboscis is in two parts. The butterfly will coil, and uncoil after it emerges until it fuses together.
Did you know there are muscles, nerves, and air tubes the length of the proboscis? When blood is forced into the proboscis it extends and the muscles help the butterfly move it when feeding. Tiny sensory pegs on the outside of the proboscis, one near the tip, both find and taste the nectar.
Saved
This morning a monarch butterfly hatched in the butterfly house, but some how fell to the bottom of the house. Luckily I found it in time and put it on a branch, so it could continue to hang and perfect its wings. This one marks No. 207, or 39 monarch hatches for this month alone, in the butterfly house.
When the butterfly first emerges from its chrysalis the proboscis, the butterfly’s straw for sipping nectar, is in two parts. The butterfly will use its two palpi, which are located on either side of the proboscis, in order to create a singular tube.
Torn wing
This female monarch butterfly, although had a torn wing, fluttered about just fine this morning in the garden.
It definitely makes you wonder how long she has been flying and what happened.
She was a beauty, and fun to watch as she tackled the porterweed to grab some good.
I wonder how much nectar they have to consume in a day for their diet?
A quick drink
The proboscis, or what is referred as the butterfly’s straw, is a very important part of its digestive system, as it begins at the very tip. The strong muscles in the butterfly’s head will stretch its first part of the esophagus to sip the nectar from the flower, according to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening.” The butterfly’s salivary glands will add enzymes, which begin the digestion once the nectar enters the butterfly’s head. The process continues as the nectar is stored in “the crop,” or a sac, in the abdomen once it passes through the thorax. It then moves into the butterfly’s “midgut” where the majority of absorption and digestion takes place before continuing onto the hindgut. The process continues as the hindgut is responsible for getting rid of nitrogen wastes, and excess salts. Uric acid is dumped into the gut to discharge feces, which is in liquid form, at the tip of the abdomen, according to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening.”