What Eats Butterflies?
Quick answer: Butterflies are eaten by birds, spiders, dragonflies, praying mantises, wasps, lizards, frogs, bats and small mammals. Eggs and caterpillars are eaten by even more predators, including ants and parasitic wasps, which is why few butterflies survive to adulthood.
There are many different creatures that make butterflies part of their diet. While most humans can not even imagine attempting to eat a butterfly, there are many animals that need to make a meal out of a butterfly to survive.
Common Butterfly Predators
Some of the common predators of butterflies include but are certainly not limited to: wasps, ants, parasitic flies, birds, snakes, toads, rats, lizards, dragonflies, and even monkeys! A few of the other animals that are constantly adding butterflies to their menu list are frogs and spiders. These predators eat butterflies as butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and adult butterflies.
Now, when it comes down to eating butterflies, there are two kinds of butterflies that these predators will consume: a good tasting butterfly or a bad tasting butterfly. To keep from becoming a tasty snack, some butterflies have developed a bad taste to their bodies. Monarchs taste bad because the caterpillars have eaten milkweed. Once a bird tastes one, they don�t want to try another one. Another butterfly, called the Viceroy, tastes good but looks so much like a Monarch that birds won’t eat it.
Do People Eat Butterflies?
One thing that may be surprising to a lot of people is that a few countries have butterflies on their menu for humans to order! While most of us are appalled to eat anything as beautiful as a butterfly, there are quite a few countries that see the butterfly as a delicacy. Mexico, Africa and Southeast Asia are the few countries that find butterflies to be a great appetizer or dessert.
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How Butterflies Avoid Being Eaten
So, if you are a caterpillar or butterfly, how do you keep from getting eaten? One great way is to have fake eyes to trick predators into thinking you are something else! Here’s some more pictures on the NYTimes site.
Randi Jones is the owner and founder of the Nature Gift Store, an online retailer specializing in nature-themed gifts, educational science projects, live animal nature kits and real butterfly artwork. A biology graduate who fell in love with insects, she founded the company in 2001 to make active learning about nature fun, accessible and engaging for children and adults. Her store offers real butterfly frames, home and garden decor and educational live animal kits, including ant farms, worm farms, tadpoles, ladybugs and hermit crabs, and she runs a bug museum in Washington featuring live animals like Eddie the Iguana alongside other reptiles and insects.
