Butterfly Species who feed on Rotten Fruit,
Tree Sap or 'Puddle'
Besides
sugars, butterflies also need salt, nitrogen and amino acids. Some
species eat rotting fruit,
tree sap, feces including dung and bird
droppings, and carrion - and some butterflies - especially the males get
these nutrients by 'puddling'. These butterflies take up these extra
nutrients at puddle edges, and muddy and damp ground. The females then
get the extra nutrients they need through the spermatophore that
the males passes to them during the mating process.
Butterfly and Caterpillar Food Sources
Flower nectar is rich in sugar which gives the butterfly
energy to fly. Using their proboscis, butterflies drink nectar from many
species of wildflowers, shrubs, flowering herbs and garden flowers.
Some of the flowering plants that butterflies favor as a nectar
source include lantanas and verbenas, butterfly bushes, heliotropes,
sunflowers, coreopsis, milkweeds, asters, thistles, clovers and vetches,
and buckwheats. For a list
of flowering plants that are good nectar sources for butterflies click
here.
Besides sugar, butterflies also require nutrients such as salt, nitrogen
and amino acids. Called 'Puddling', mostly the male butterflies take up
these extra nutrients at puddle edges, and muddy and damp ground. The
females then get the extra nutrients they need through the spermatophore
that the males passes to them during the mating process.
For a list of butterfly species that
'puddle' for their nutrients, click here.
Many butterflies get the extra nutrients they need
from tree sap, rotten fruit, carrion, and dung.
For a list of butterfly species that feed off of tree sap,
rotten fruit, carrion and dung, click here.
Often emerging from their egg at their food source, the larva
(caterpillars) feed on select plant food sources.
For a list of plants that are good larval food sources
click
here.
Butterfly Species in the
Southwest that Feed from Tree Sap:
Satyr Comma (Polygonia satyrus)
Weidenmeyer's Admiral Butterfly (Limenitis weidemeyerii)
Colorado Hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus)
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis milberti)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Red-Spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)
Dingy Purplewing (Eunica monima)
Tropical Leafwing (Anaea troglodyta)
Goatweed Leafwing (Anaea andria)
Hackberry Emperor
Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton)
Empress Leilia (Asterocampa leilia)
Short-tailed Skipper (Zestusa dorus)
Butterfly Species in the Southwest that Feed on
Rotting Fruit:
Satyr
Comma (Polygonia satyrus)
Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)
Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Milbert's Tortoiseshell
(Nymphalis milberti)
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
Red-Spotted Purple
(Limenitis arthemis)
California Sister (Adelpha bredowii)
Dingy Purplewing
(Eunica monima)
Tropical Leafwing (Anaea troglodyta)
Goatweed Leafwing
(Anaea andria)
Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis)
Tawny Emperor
(Asterocampa clyton)
Butterfly Species in the Southwest that 'Puddle':
Hackberry
Emperor (Asterocampa celtis)
Ursine Giant-Skipper (Megathymus ursus)
Streckers Giant-Skipper
(Megathymus streckeri)
Yucca Giant-Skipper (Megathymus yuccae)
Mojave Giant-Skipper
(Agathymus alliae)
Huachuca Giant-Skipper (Agathymus evansi)
Gentry's Giant-Skipper
(Agathymus gentryi)
Arizona Giant-Skipper (Agathymus aryxna)
Orange Giant-Skipper
(Agathymus neumoegen)