Skip to main content
Entomology 2021 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
In-Person
In-Person
Livestream
Livestream
On-Demand
On-Demand
Student Competition
Student Competition
Video Chat
Video Chat
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Poster Icons
Student Competition
Student Competition
In-Person
In-Person
Poster
Poster
On-Demand
On-Demand
Q&A

Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity

10-Minute Paper

SysEB: Morphology

Physical adaptations of butterfly proboscises facilitate feeding from narrow floral tubes

Sunday, October 31, 2021
2:06 PM – 2:18 PM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 501-502
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • ML

    Matthew S. Lehnert

    Associate Professor
    Kent State University at Stark
    Clinton, Ohio

    • Co-Author(s)

  • DJ

    Daytona Johnson

    Kent State University
    North Canton, Ohio

  • JW

    Jianing Wu

    Sun Yat-Sen University
    Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (People's Republic)

  • YS

    Yu Sun

    Sun Yat-Sen University
    Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (People's Republic)

  • RF

    Rena Fonseca

    Kent State University at Stark
    North Canton, Ohio

  • JM

    Jan Michels

    Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
    Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

  • JS

    Jamie Shell

    Kent State University
    North Canton, Ohio

  • KR

    Kristen Reiter

    Kent State University at Stark
    North Canton, Ohio

Butterflies use a proboscis to feed on nutritive fluids. The structural configuration of proboscises relates to feeding habits; however, the adaptations that facilitate feeding from narrow floral tubes lack experimental evidence. Here, we used funnel-shaped glass capillary tubes and performed feeding trials with six butterfly species of different feeding habits. The feeding trials were video recorded to determine the depth the proboscises reached into the tube and how long they remained there, and the results were interpreted in terms of proboscis morphology, friction forces, and the material properties of the cuticle. Butterflies classified as flower visitors were more efficient at feeding from the tubes, reaching an average 1.83x deeper into the tubes than the other species and never getting their proboscises stuck. The non-flower visiting species, in contrast, had their proboscises remain in the tube 17x longer than the flower-visiting species, with 90% of them getting their proboscises at least partially stuck. Flower-visiting butterflies had smoother and more tapered proboscises, lower friction forces, and a semicircular cross-section that would reduce bendability and was augmented by a more sclerotized cuticle. Proboscises of flower-visiting butterflies have several adaptations that operate synergistically to enable feeding on nectar in narrow floral tubes.