How do butterflies taste their food?

Did you know that butterflies taste their food with their feet?

They have receptors in their legs that are similar to our taste buds – except they’re around 200 times stronger!

When a female butterfly lands on a leaf she can taste to see if it is safe to lay her eggs there. Like if there are toxins that could harm their offspring.

So if the butterfly doesn’t taste anything bad, they know that they can raise their caterpillars there safely.

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There’s even more to discover about butterflies! Did you know…

Butterflies’ lifespan varies from around 2-4 weeks
According to scientists, there are between 1500 and 2000 different species of butterfly
Their wings are made up of tiny scales
Butterflies can’t fly if they’re cold
They attach their eggs to leaves with a special glue

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If you want to find out more cool facts about butterflies then check out this Science Weekly Podcast where Dan chats to Dr Hayley Jones and tells us just how important butterflies are…