Butterfly Cuisine

You probably won’t find such an artfully composed fruit tray in the deep understory of the rainforest. What you will find is fallen fruits broken open among the leaf litter, half concealed in the shadows.

Look closely and you might see what look like glowing yellow eyes. Come closer, and the eyes might vanish in a sudden movement, to reveal the colorful inner wings of a butterfly. The eye spots are false markings that may frighten away potential predators.




Most butterflies found in the dark understory layer of the rainforest, or close to the trunks of trees in the canopy, sport brownish or grayish outer wings, often with lavish color on the inner wing. The Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides), is a great example, but there are others such as the shoemaker butterflies (Genus – Catonephele) and the Owl butterflies (Genus – Caligo). These species commonly drink the juices of fruits. They can navigate even at low light levels, and remain active into the early evening. Many of them are most comfortable in proximity to trees and rest on tree trunks – or on people who stand still too long.

Move up into the higher reaches of the forest or into a clearing where more sunlight is available and you will see more color. Flowers in all colors of the rainbow attract equally vivid butterflies. These butterflies of the clearings and canopy are often yellow, red or orange, sometimes with bold black markings. They use color to attract or identify mates, and in some cases to advertise their noxious flavor to predators. As you might guess, these butterflies have good color vision and often favor brightly colored flowers. They do not see well when the sun begins to set. They settle onto plants in the late afternoon, often sleeping in large clusters of a single species. Seen in near-darkness, their color markings fade, and their black markings look like the fronds of finely cut leaves. The Longwing butterflies (Genus- Heliconius) and the Swallowtails (Family- Papilionidae) are classic examples of these traits, though other butterflies fall into this group as well. These butterflies dine on nectar and in rare cases, also on pollen. The alcohols in fruit juices would harm them and you will rarely see them at a fruit dish.

Regardless of their light and food needs, many butterflies love water. Rainforest species often patrol riverbeds, which are nice open places to fly. Males of many species settle on damp sand or earth and drink the moisture which is also rich in minerals. Clipper butterflies (Parthenos Sylvia) are especially fond of water and can often be found near pools or ponds.

Pacific Science Center’s Tropical Butterfly House is not tall enough to replicate the different layers of a rainforest but we do have sunny and shady microhabitats – a layer of flowering trees and vines near the ceiling, water, and open areas similar to the clearings that attract sun loving species.
Next time you visit, look for behaviors and markings that give you clues about the origins of different butterflies. We try to give them enough choices that they can demonstrate their preferences.