Subject: Re: First grader's questions

From: "Julian O'Dea" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 16:06:59 +1000

Boyce Drummond wrote:
>
>3. Butterfly adults do not have chewing mouthparts and thus are incapable of
>eating meat.  However, several species imbibe liquid secretions of carrion,
>attracted by the amino acids and the salts available from rotting flesh.

It is not really "meat", but aren't there also some butterflies which feed
on tears (at the eyes of bovids if I remember correctly) and, I think, some
which feed on blood?

Julian
[email-masked] (Julian O'Dea)

---

From: [email-masked] (DoryO)
Date: 29 Apr 1996 23:44:50 -0400

>on tears (at the eyes of bovids if I remember correctly) and, I think,
some

According to Gilbert Waldbauer in his book, "Insects Through the Seasons",
Harvard Univ. Press, 1996:

"Some owlet moths and geometers...board mammals to suck sweat, skin oils,
or lachrymal secretions from the eyes or oozing blood from wounds such as
those made by blood-sucking flies." [See "HELP! Buffalo Gnats! for related
gore...]

"A southeast Asian owlet moth called Calyptra, a member of the same family
as our familiar underwing moths, has taken the ultimate step to obtain
body fluids.  It pierces the skin and sucks blood from mammals such as
cattle, pigs, antelopes, tapirs, and even elephants..."

"Hans Banziger, the Swiss entomologist who discovered the blood-sucking
behavior of these moths, described how he used himself as a human guinea
pig in his experiments with Calyptra...When he put his hand [which he had
cut] into a cage containing one of these moths, it climbed on to his
finger and plunged its proboscis into the pooling blood...It stuck its
straight, lance-like proboscis into the wound and...penetrated the
flesh...the pain he felt caused him to utter a cry of joy because he had
made an exciting, new discovery."

That ought to get those first-graders fired up!   All you need now is an
ID on the butterfly that lands on the animated Pocahontas' outstretched
fingertips and you've got something for everyone.

Dory Owen