Australian Science Illustrated – Issue 51 2017

scienceillustrated.com.au | 67

The coiled proboscis allows butterflies to

taste nectar, pollen, and other things which

they encounter in their search for food. The

proboscis includes olfactory organs located

at its tip. It is made up of two parallel, gutter-

like structures, which combine into a tube

that can be used for suction. The proboscis

can be rolled up and out, when the butterfly

needs to reach deep into a flower to suck the

nectar. In some African butterfly species, the

proboscis can grow up to 30 cm long,

because they must be able to suck nectar

from orchids with very deep flowers. Most

proboscises are completely soft, but some

butterfly species have mouths hard enough

to drill through citrus fruit peel.

Butterfly proboscis looks like

whip or ladybird antenna

Enlarged:

6.3^ TIMES

JOCHEN SCHROEDER/NIKON SMALL WORLD

D. DELIMONT/GETTY IMAGES & SHUTTERSTOCK