Editing Butterfly (section)

===Behaviour===

[[File:Australian painted lady feeding.jpg|thumb|left|An [[Australian painted lady]] feeding on a flowering shrub]]

Butterflies feed primarily on [[nectar]] from flowers. Some also derive nourishment from [[pollen]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gilbert |first=L. E. |year=1972 |title=Pollen Feeding and Reproductive Biology of ''Heliconius'' Butterflies |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=69 |issue=6 |pages=1402–1407 |doi=10.1073/pnas.69.6.1403|pmid=16591992 |pmc=426712 |bibcode=1972PNAS...69.1403G |doi-access=free }}</ref> tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, decaying flesh, and dissolved minerals in wet sand or dirt. Butterflies are important as pollinators for some species of plants. In general, they do not carry as much pollen load as [[bee]]s, but they are capable of moving pollen over greater distances.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Herrera |first=C. M. |year=1987 |title=Components of Pollinator 'Quality': Comparative Analysis of a Diverse Insect Assemblage |journal=Oikos |volume=50 |number=1 |pages=79–90 |url=http://ebd06.ebd.csic.es/pdfs/Herrera.1987.Oikos.pdf |doi=10.2307/3565403 |jstor=3565403 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225100931/http://ebd06.ebd.csic.es/pdfs/Herrera.1987.Oikos.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2009 }}</ref> [[Flower constancy]] has been observed for at least one species of butterfly.<ref name="Goulson1997">{{cite journal |doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0390 |last1=Goulson |first1=D. |last2=Ollerton |first2=J. |last3=Sluman |first3=C. |s2cid=620334 |year=1997 |title=Foraging strategies in the small skipper butterfly, ''Thymelicus flavus'': when to switch? |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=53 |issue=5 |pages=1009–1016 |author1-link=Dave Goulson |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1fee/1912f23d50ad0e01e571490db4b60154a0cb.pdf |access-date=24 December 2020 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302121954/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1fee/1912f23d50ad0e01e571490db4b60154a0cb.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Adult butterflies consume only liquids, ingested through the proboscis. They sip water from damp patches for hydration and feed on nectar from flowers, from which they obtain sugars for energy, and [[sodium]] and other minerals vital for reproduction. Several species of butterflies need more sodium than that provided by nectar and are attracted by sodium in salt; they sometimes land on people, attracted by the salt in human sweat. Some butterflies also visit dung and scavenge rotting fruit or carcasses to obtain minerals and nutrients. In many species, this [[mud-puddling]] behaviour is restricted to the males, and studies have suggested that the nutrients collected may be provided as a [[nuptial gift]], along with the spermatophore, during mating.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2005.00539.x |last1=Molleman |first1=Freerk |last2=Grunsven |first2=Roy H. A. |last3=Liefting |first3=Maartje |last4=Zwaan |year=2005 |first4=Bas J. |last5=Brakefield |first5=Paul M. |title=Is Male Puddling Behaviour of Tropical Butterflies Targeted at Sodium for Nuptial Gifts or Activity? |journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=86 |issue=3 |pages=345–361| doi-access= }}</ref>

In [[Hill-topping (biology)|hilltopping]], males of some species seek hilltops and ridge tops, which they patrol in search for females. Since it usually occurs in species with low population density, it is assumed these landscape points are used as meeting places to find mates.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gochfeld |first1=Michael |last2=Burger |first2=Joanna |title=Butterflies of New Jersey: A Guide to Their Status, Distribution, Conservation, and Appreciation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SzNCNPkgQcC&pg=PA55 |year=1997 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-2355-2 |page=55 |access-date=15 May 2018 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727142317/https://books.google.com/books?id=8SzNCNPkgQcC&pg=PA55 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Butterflies use their antennae to sense the air for wind and scents. The antennae come in various shapes and colours; the hesperiids have a pointed angle or hook to the antennae, while most other families show knobbed antennae. The antennae are richly covered with sensory organs known as [[sensillum|sensillae]]. A butterfly's sense of taste is coordinated by chemoreceptors on the [[Arthropod leg#Insects|tarsi]], or feet, which work only on contact, and are used to determine whether an egg-laying insect's offspring will be able to feed on a leaf before eggs are laid on it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-butterfly.html |title=Article on San Diego Zoo website |publisher=Sandiegozoo.org |access-date=30 March 2009 |archive-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304014910/http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-butterfly.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many butterflies use chemical signals, [[pheromone]]s; some have specialized scent scales ([[androconia]]) or other structures ([[coremata]] or "hair pencils" in the Danaidae).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Birch |first1=M. C. |last2=Poppy |first2=G. M. |title=Scents and Eversible Scent Structures of Male Moths |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |date=1990 |volume=35 |pages=25–58 |url=http://ento.psu.edu/publications/512BirchEtAl1990.pdf |doi=10.1146/annurev.ento.35.1.25 |access-date=12 September 2015 |archive-date=6 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006020930/http://ento.psu.edu/publications/512BirchEtAl1990.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Vision is well developed in butterflies and most species are sensitive to the ultraviolet spectrum. Many species show sexual dimorphism in the patterns of UV reflective patches.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Obara |first1=Y. |last2=Hidaki |first2=T. |year=1968 |title=Recognition of the Female by the Male, on the Basis of Ultra-Violet Reflection, in the White Cabbage Butterfly, ''Pieris rapae crucivora'' Boisduval| journal=Proceedings of the Japan Academy| volume=44 |issue=8| pages=829–832| doi=10.2183/pjab1945.44.829 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Colour vision may be widespread but has been demonstrated in only a few species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hirota |first1=Tadao |last2=Yoshiomi |first2=Yoshiomi| year=2004| title=Color Discrimination on Orientation of Female ''Eurema hecabe'' (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) |journal=Applied Entomology and Zoology |volume=39 |issue=2| pages=229–233 |doi=10.1303/aez.2004.229| doi-access=free |bibcode=2004AppEZ..39..229H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kinoshita |first1=Michiyo |last2=Shimada |first2=Naoko |last3=Arikawa |first3=Kentaro |year=1999 |title=Color Vision of the Foraging Swallowtail Butterfly ''Papilio xuthus'' |journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology |volume=202 |issue=2 |pages=95–102 |doi=10.1242/jeb.202.2.95 |pmid=9851899 |bibcode=1999JExpB.202...95K |url=https://ir.soken.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=3270&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1 |access-date=10 August 2021 |archive-date=2 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102203420/https://ir.soken.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=3270&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some butterflies have organs of hearing and some species make [[Stridulation|stridulatory]] and clicking sounds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Swihart |first1=S. L |year=1967 |title=Hearing in Butterflies |journal=Journal of Insect Physiology |volume=13 |issue=3| pages=469–472 |doi=10.1016/0022-1910(67)90085-6}}</ref>

[[File:Butterfly midflight.jpg|thumb|left|''Heteronympha merope'' taking off]]

Many species of butterfly maintain territories and actively chase other species or individuals that may stray into them. Some species will bask or perch on chosen perches. The flight styles of butterflies are often characteristic and some species have courtship flight displays. Butterflies can only fly when their temperature is above {{convert|27|°C}}; when it is cool, they can position themselves to expose the underside of the wings to the sunlight to heat themselves up. If their body temperature reaches {{convert|40|°C}}, they can orientate themselves with the folded wings edgewise to the sun.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Butterflies Make Best Use of the Sunshine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfHEmTgmHacC&pg=PA13 |archive-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521070952/https://books.google.com/books?id=PfHEmTgmHacC&pg=PA13 |url-status=live |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |volume=120 |issue=1643 |date=17 December 1988 |page=13 |issn=0262-4079 |access-date=8 January 2016 }}</ref> Basking is an activity which is more common in the cooler hours of the morning. Some species have evolved dark wingbases to help in gathering more heat and this is especially evident in alpine forms.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ellers |first1=J. |last2=Boggs |first2=Carol L. |year=2002 |title=The Evolution of Wing Color in ''Colias'' Butterflies: Heritability, Sex Linkage, and population divergence |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Pubs/Boggs_pdfs/2002_Ellers_Boggs_Coliaswingcolor.pdf |journal=Evolution |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=836–840 |pmid=12038541 |doi=10.1554/0014-3820(2002)056[0836:teowci]2.0.co;2 |s2cid=8732686 |access-date=7 November 2006 |archive-date=7 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107023814/http://www.stanford.edu/group/CCB/Pubs/Boggs_pdfs/2002_Ellers_Boggs_Coliaswingcolor.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

As in many other insects, the [[lift (force)|lift]] generated by butterflies is more than can be accounted for by steady-state, non-transitory [[aerodynamics]]. Studies using ''[[Vanessa atalanta]]'' in a [[wind tunnel]] show that they use a wide variety of aerodynamic mechanisms to generate force. These include [[wake capture]], [[vortices]] at the wing edge, rotational mechanisms and the [[Torkel Weis-Fogh|Weis-Fogh]] '[[clap-and-fling]]' mechanism. Butterflies are able to change from one mode to another rapidly.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Srygley |first1=R. B. |last2=Thomas |first2=A. L. R. |year=2002 |title=Aerodynamics of Insect Flight: Flow Visualisations with Free Flying Butterflies Reveal a Variety of Unconventional Lift-Generating Mechanisms |journal=Nature |volume=420 |issue=6916| pages=660–664 |pmid=12478291 |doi=10.1038/nature01223| bibcode=2002Natur.420..660S |s2cid=11435467 }}</ref>