![]() Each ommatidium gathers light and processes visual information through its own lens and nerve system. However, larvae still see the same range of light as adult butterflies- from red all the way through ultraviolet.Īdults see through compound eyes made up of thousands of ommatidia. They see with 12 ocelli, which have only a few cells each (compared to the thousands of cells associated with adult insect eyes or human eyes). Sightīutterflies see very differently during different stages of their lives. We do not know how many species of butterflies and moths use sound because humans often can’t hear the noises they produce. In other species it seems to serve as a way to scare off predators such as birds. In some species this may be a means of communication between individuals and can play an important role in finding mates. For example, people who live in cities often stop noticing the noise of traffic until they go out into the country and notice its absence again.Īdult butterflies often sense sound through veins in their wings, but scientists have only studied this in a limited number of species. A few species of moths and butterflies (not monarchs) make sound by rubbing or clicking together parts of their bodies, such as wings or legs. Habituation occurs throughout the annimal kingdome, even in humans. If you clap repeatedly, the caterpillars get used to the noise and stop responding-a phenomenon of learning called habituation. This reaction is called a startle response, a behavior that probably evolved to protect the larvae from predators who make noise. For example, monarch larvae often rear up if you clap loudly near them. Larvae perceive sound through tactile setae, but they mainly respond to sudden noises. ![]() In general, butterflies have poor hearing. Setae on the adult monarch’s antennae sense both touch and smell. This is especially important for flight, and there are several collections of specialized setae and nerves that help the adult sense wind, gravity, and the position of head, body, wings, legs, antennae, and other body parts. ![]() Larvae often curl up into a ball when lightly touched.Īdults have tactile setae on almost all their body parts, and these setae play an important role in helping the butterfly sense the relative position of many body parts. Larvae have a variety of responses to touch, and these responses may change over time. You can see these setae on monarch larvae with a simple magnifying lens or under a microscope. In larvae, tactile setae are scattered fairly evenly over the whole body. These hairs ( tactile setae) are attached to nerve cells which relay information about the hairs’ movement to the butterfly. Both stages sense touch through hairs that extend through sockets in the exoskeleton. Touch is important in different ways during the larval and adult stages. These differences can make it hard to study butterfly senses and means that butterflies likely use their senses in many ways we do not yet understand. For example, they can see ultraviolet light and hear ultrasound. Butterfly sensory systems are very different from humans.
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