Butterflies & Pollination

Butterflies: the Pretty Pollinators

You would have to look hard to find a down side to butterflies.

Butterflies almost never cause damage to crops or humans.

On the positive side, butterflies are:

1. Important pollinators;

2. Important to the food chain; many other animals eat them for their food.

3. Butterflies are colorful, beautiful to look at, fun to watch.

4. Butterflies are one of the favorite insects of children and adults alike.

Retrieved from http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ecs/biology/butterflies.html May 13, 2011

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Butterflies and other Pollinators

http://www.wildaboutgardening.org/en/attracting/section1/index.htm

pollinators are animals that transfer pollen of plants to other plants to help fruit and seed to grow. While some plants, such as grasses, have very light pollen which can be transferred by wind, about 80% of flowering plants are dependant on pollinators to help them transfer their pollen.

A pollinator goes to a flower seeking nectar and in the process pollen from the male part of the flower sticks to the pollinator's legs or other parts of its body. When it flies on to another flower of the same type, the pollen is deposited on the female part of the plant. This allows the plant to reproduce by creating seeds and fruit.

When people think of pollination, many focus on bees. Bees are the principal pollinators, but there are other important pollinators as well. These include other insects such as flies, moths, butterflies, wasps, and even some beetles. They also include hummingbirds and bats.

the importance of pollinators | threats to pollinators | creating a pollinators' paradise | a diversity of pollinators

The importance of pollinators

Many of the foods we eat could not be produced without pollinators. Apples, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, carrots, squash, cocoa, cotton, cherries, and peaches are just a few examples of the crops which are dependent on pollinators for their production. Many wildflowers also rely on pollinators. Without their services we would not be able to grow the majority of our food crops or enjoy the flowers around us.

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Pretty Pollinators: The Butterflies

Butterflies are pollinating insects. (Pollinators are animals that transfer pollen of plants to other plants to help fruit and seed to grow.)

· Although they pollinate flowers, they are not as effective as some insects, and are therefore not considered to be major pollinators.

· Butterflies have limited contact with pollen and therefore do not transfer large amounts of pollen from flower to flower.

· The body of the butterfly does not come close to the flower’s pollen like the body of a bee does.

· Butterflies have long, thin legs and use them to perch on the sides of flowers and simply probe for nectar with their long proboscis (tongues).¹

· They cannot get as close, or go inside flowers like other insects can.

· Butterflies are attracted to flowers with lots of nectar supplies, and tend to visit bright colored flowers, especially red, orange and purple.

· Butterflies have a weak sense of smell, but can see better than some other pollinators. They are also very active during the day and tend to visit a great number of flowers.

1. "Butterfly Pollination.” USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers. http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/butterflies.shtml