Photo 136
Subject: Swallowtail Butterfly on Teasel
Park or Reserve: Wetlands at Murrysville Community Park
Photo file name: Action of Extracting Nectar
Date of photo: Summer 2011
Category: Action
Comments: A butterfly's mouth, or proboscis, is thin and straw-like.
When a butterfly wishes to extract nectar from a flower, it unfurls
its proboscis so as to reach the nectar. When the proboscis is not is
use, it gets rolled up tightly so as to be out of the way. When you
are close enough to a butterfly, you can easily see the action of its
proboscis. In this photo, you can see that the proboscis is gathering
nectar.
