Butterflies Taste with Their Feet
Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet called chemoreceptors, allowing them to taste flowers and identify suitable places to lay eggs just by landing.
About this fact
Butterflies possess one of nature's most unusual taste systems. They have taste receptors called chemoreceptors located on their feet, which are actually more sensitive than human taste buds. When a butterfly lands on a flower or leaf, it immediately knows if it's suitable food or a good place to lay eggs. These foot-taste sensors can detect sugars, salts, and various chemicals. Female butterflies use this ability to identify the correct host plants for their caterpillars - each species has specific plants their larvae can digest. For example, Monarch butterflies will only lay eggs on milkweed plants, which they identify by 'tasting' with their feet. This foot-tasting ability is so precise that butterflies can distinguish between different concentrations of sugar water.